When We Were Young
by GwenOwenforever
Summary: Gwen and Owen meet as teenagers at a party. Things don't go as they'd hoped as Gwen leaves and Owen realises he's fallen for her. Ten years later, PC Cooper stumbles across Torchwood and the two are reunited.
1. Chapter 1

****Disclaimer:**** I own nothing!

Owen breathed a sigh of relief as his mum left the house, slamming the door behind her. He'd never got on well with his mum and most days would end in arguments and at least one of them storming out.

This time however, hadn't ended in an argument. Once a month for a week, his mum would spend that week at a friend's house claiming to go to health spas and relaxing. Owen knew it was all a lie. He knew she spent the week at whatever bloke's house she was seeing at the time and get pissed all the time. Why she bothered lying to him, he didn't know.

He always looked forward to these weeks as he had the house to himself and not have to put up with her nagging at him. He'd invite his friends over, mainly, but most of the time, people he didn't even know would end up coming too. He'd drink his mum's stash of beers and get hammered, maybe he'd get lucky with some random girl.

At sixteen years old, Owen already had a reputation. He wasn't sure whether he was proud of that or not at times but most of the time, he didn't care.

As Owen was looking to see what his mum had in her stash this time, the phone started to ring. He quickly went and answered it.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Owen, it's Lucy." A female voice replied.

Lucy Jones was his fourteen year old cousin on his mother's side and probably the only family member he got along with. She too didn't get along with her parents so they'd spent most of their time together just to get away from them when they were younger. They were more like siblings than cousins to be honest.

As she'd grown though, she'd become a bit of a goody two shoes and a teacher's pet in school. He'd tried to put a bit of distance between them now that they were older as he didn't want his mates laughing at him. But Lucy wasn't exactly one of the most popular people in school and she got picked on quite a lot so Owen felt it was his duty to protect her. This meant she always had to stay relatively close to him so he could jump in if he needed to. He'd lost count of how many guys he'd beat up and girls he'd made cry for picking on her.

"Hey Lucy. What's up?" He asked.

"I just wanted to ask you something." She explained. "You see, when I went down to Cardiff for a week, I met this girl called Gwen and she's sort of become my best friend. She's down in London for a week." So that's why he hadn't seen Lucy this week. "Tonight's her last night and I was just wondering if I could bring her to the party. Her parents are a little...old fashioned. You know, the religious sort so we told them she's coming to mine for a sleepover. So can she come?"

"Yeah, whatever." He answered. Great, another one of Lucy's few giggly, girly friends. "Bring her along."

"Thanks Owen. Oh, I think you'll love her. She's really cool." Lucy said excitedly.

"Great." He replied unenthusiastically. "I'll see you later Lucy."

"Bye Owen." Lucy said and put the phone down.

Owen sighed and wandered back into the kitchen. At least the house would be full so he might not even bump into this Gwen. He was happy that Lucy had made a new friend, he just knew what her friends were like. Always dressed in pink and giggling and gossiping about boys, though neither of them had ever been in any kind of relationship with a boy. Most of them had a crush on him and were always staring at him and creeping him out. He generally tried to stay out of the way when she was with one of her friends.

Owen cringed as he remembered the last time one of her friends had come to one of his parties. She'd clearly never had alcohol before and had gotten drunk after just two bottles of beer. She'd thrown herself at Owen and tried to kiss him. She wasn't the smallest of girls and they'd tumbled to the floor. It had taken two of his mates to pull her off him so he could make a quick exit. Luckily, he hadn't seen her after that. Lucy had had some kind of argument with her and they hadn't spoken since.

He was going to do his best to avoid a repeat performance tonight or he'd have to ban Lucy from bringing friends over – even if it meant upsetting her.

Later that night, the party was in full swing and Owen was having a laugh with a group of friends when the doorbell rang. He rolled his eyes as he went to answer it. Only Lucy ever rang the doorbell, everyone else just walked straight in.

"Lucy, how many times have I told you to just come in?" He sighed.

"It's rude to just walk in." Lucy argued. "Anyway, this is Gwen Cooper, the girl I told you about."

Owen glanced at the girl just behind Lucy and nodded slightly. He had to double take as the girl did not look like any of her usual friends.

Gwen's dark hair fell down to her bare shoulders, shaping her face. Her sparkling, green eyes were outlined in thick eyeliner and her full lips painted a pale pink. She was very well developed with all the right curves in all the right places and she wore clothes to show them off. Her tight, strapless top showed off the right amount of cleavage. His eyes drifted to her long, slender legs revealed by the short skirt she was wearing. She wore heels to give her more height, not that she needed it. Even without them on, he could tell she was taller than Lucy and she looked a lot older. He was finding it very hard to keep his eyes off her.

"I'm Owen Harper, Lucy's cousin." He said, gently moving Lucy to the side so he could stand in front of Gwen.

He held out his hand for her to shake and she took it with a smile. Was it just him, or was there something...mischievous in that smile?

"Hi. It's nice to finally meet you Owen." She said. Owen loved the sound of his name coming out in that Welsh accent of hers. "Lucy's not stopped talking about you all week."

"Gwen's fourteen like me. You wouldn't think it though, would you?" Lucy giggled, unaware that both Gwen and Owen were hardly paying any attention to her.

Their hands were still gripping each other's tightly and their eyes locked.

"I'm fifteen next month." Gwen said quickly.

"Come on Gwen. Let's go inside and see if that guy I was talking about is here. He is absolutely gorgeous." Lucy told her.

She tugged Gwen's arm and pulled her away from Owen. He watched them go into the house, hypnotised by the way her heels made her hips sway as she walked. Gwen turned in the doorway and smiled the most radiant smile at him before disappearing inside. He quickly followed them back in and went to join his friends.

He positioned himself so he could watch Gwen while still seeming to be listening to the conversation he was meant to be involved in. Owen felt a twist of jealousy in his stomach as he watched some lad walk over to Gwen and start talking to her. He grinned as he walked away looking dejected.

"Hey, who's that girl with your cousin? She is smoking." One of his mates said in his ear.

"She's Lucy's new friend. Her name's Gwen or something." Owen shrugged. "I wouldn't bother trying anything though, she's got a boyfriend."

"Really?" He asked.

"Oh yeah." Owen lied. "Big, tough guy. Lot older than she is and you really don't want to mess with him."

"That's a shame." He sighed. "Still, might give it a try. Never know with a girl like her."

"Don't you dare go anywhere near her." Owen growled, pointing a threatening finger in his friend's face. His mate held his hands up in surrender and Owen quickly composed himself. "Sorry, it's just because...she's my cousin's mate. I'm looking out for her, you know."

"Yeah right." His mate laughed. "Bet you just want to keep her for yourself so you can try it on with her." Owen glared at his mate and turned away. "It's alright mate, I'll back off."

An hour later, Owen looked over and noticed Gwen was standing on her own, leaning against a wall. She looked up at him and smiled the smile she'd given him when he shook her hand. He looked around him to see if she was smiling at someone behind him but there was no one around. Picking up his bottle of beer, he casually walked over and leant on the wall beside her.

"Where's Lucy?" Owen frowned.

"Bathroom. She's chucking up the last beer she had." Gwen told him.

"That sounds like her." Owen sighed. "She's not so good at handling alcohol. You, on the other hand, look like you can handle anything." She took a long swig of her beer and wriggled her eyebrows at him. He blushed and looked away quickly. "You having a good time?"

"Yeah, it's great." Gwen nodded as she sipped her beer. "Better than the parties I've been to back home."

"Do you...go to parties like this often?" He enquired.

"All the time." She grinned. "Just to piss my mum and dad off."

"Lucy told me about them. Bit religious she said." Owen said.

"A bit? They tried to get me to go to church every Sunday but as soon as I was twelve, I told them to piss off. My mum has always tried to raise me as this perfect little girl but that's not me. So I started taking control of my life and I've been rebelling ever since." She told him.

"How did a girl like you become friends with someone like Lucy?" Owen laughed.

Gwen sighed and looked away.

"I was hoping she'd be a good influence on me." She said. "Look at her." Lucy staggered back into the room and shied away from all the guys calling out to her. She froze and turned to run back into the bathroom. "She's so sweet and innocent."

"And you're not?" Owen asked.

Gwen snorted into her drink and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I lost my innocence a long time ago." She answered. "Sometimes I regret it and wish I could be more like Lucy. But others..." Her eyes roamed over Owen and she smirked as she looked back into his eyes. "I'm glad I did."

"You...seeing anyone?" He asked, casually looking around the room as if he didn't really care.

"No, not at the minute." She answered.

"Really? I bet you've got guys fighting over you." He replied.

Gwen shrugged modestly and took another sip of her drink.

"What about you?" She asked. "You got a girlfriend?"

"No, I'm still single." He answered.

"I find that hard to believe." She said.

Owen raised an eyebrow as he looked at her over his drink. Was she coming on to him?

They spoke for a while, learning things about each other and flirting shamelessly.

"Gwen Cooper, I like you." Owen laughed. "Out of all of Lucy's friends, I like you the most."

"Thanks." She smiled. "I like you too." Both their smiles disappeared as Owen straightened up and stood directly in front of her. "You know, I'm glad you don't have a girlfriend."

"Me too." He nodded. "You know for a fourteen year old -"

"I'm fifteen next month." She interrupted.

"Well, for a girl your age, you're so much more mature and you're pretty hot." He told her.

They stared intently into each other's eyes as Owen took a step closer and gently placed his hands on her hips. Her breath shook as he leant in closer, their eyes still locked. All of a sudden, his lips were on hers, urgent and full of passion as he pressed her against the wall. She fisted her hands in his hair as she responded eagerly.

All too soon, Gwen pulled away and slid herself out from under Owen.

"I should...go check on Lucy." She mumbled and ran towards the bathroom.

Owen watched her go in confusion. He slowly followed her out and watched as she slipped inside the bathroom, taking one last look at him before she closed the door.

A hand landed on his shoulder and he turned see his friend grinning.

"I saw that mate. Nice move." He grinned. "Then again, she did run away. What's up? Did she not like it or something?"

"Shut up." Owen sighed and walked away.

An hour later, he was walking around the house pretending to socialise but really looking for Gwen. He spotted her sitting on the stairs alone, her face in her hands. She hadn't seen him yet as he approached from behind.

"What are you doing out here on your own?" He asked.

Gwen yelped and stood up quickly. She looked down at him over the bannister, breathing heavily.

"Lucy. She's erm...I had to...take her upstairs. She's not feeling too good. Passed out in...well...I don't know whose room it is." Gwen explained. Owen rolled his eyes and shook his head. Lucy always ended up passed out in one of the bedrooms in the early stages of the party. He thought she'd learn by now but it seemed she never did. "The music, it's...I came out here because it's a bit quieter."

"Oh right." He nodded.

He put his hand in his pocket and stood below her, rocking on his heels.

"Yeah..." She said.

Owen reached up with one hand and put it over one of hers on the banister.

"Well, as Lucy's currently unavailable, I guess it's down to me to look after you. Which would be a complete pleasure." He told her. He started to walk around to the foot of the stairs, keeping their eyes locked together. "I just want to say, I'm sorry if my kissing you offended you. I didn't mean it to."

"No, no, it didn't." She reassured him with a breath-taking smile. "It was very enjoyable."

"Why thank you." He smiled. "And I must say I too found it rather pleasurable." Owen walked up the stairs until he was standing next to her. "Want to sit and chill?"

"Got any more booze?" She smirked.

"Just the one bottle." He answered as he held up the bottle he'd just opened. "We could share. I mean, we've already shared saliva so it's nothing new."

Gwen laughed, a sound he was starting to love, and took the bottle from him. Her eyes gleamed as she stared at him and took a sip before she pressed it back into his hand.

"What about your party?" She asked as they sat down on the step.

"It's not really my party, it's just somewhere people come to hang out and get pissed. My mum disappears once a month leaving me with the house. Not exactly the smartest move but then again, it is my mum we're talking about." He replied.

"You don't get along with your mum?" Gwen enquired.

"God no." Owen laughed.

"What about your dad?" She asked.

"Haven't seen him since I was three." Owen shrugged. "According to my dear mother it's all my fault. I don't care though. I really can't wait to get out of here." He was surprised when Gwen's arms wrapped around him and pulled him into a hug. "Thanks." He smiled.

"You're welcome." She smiled shyly. "I think everyone deserves a hug."

"Well, you give very nice hugs. I will definitely be coming to Cardiff to find you when I need one." He told her. Gwen looked away shyly and tried to hide her face behind her hair. He put down his drink and leant back on his elbows on the step above him. She turned to look at him and her eyes travelled over him as his did the same with her. Owen stood up and stepped down to the step below Gwen. He held both her hands in his and pulled her up. Their faces were level and their eyes gazed directly into each other's. He lifted a hand up to brush his fingers across her cheek and whispered. "You're beautiful, Gwen."

Gwen placed her hands on his shoulders and leant in to kiss him again. At first it was slow and sweet and Owen's arms moved to wrap around her waist. He felt his heart skip a beat and when he pulled back slightly, he was sure Gwen had felt hers do the same. There was curiosity and slight confusion in her eyes as she looked into his. Seconds passed before their lips clashed together.

"Lucy said many things about you." Gwen gasped as they broke for air. She pulled his lips back to hers and kissed him hungrily before pulling away again. "But she never told me you were so fucking gorgeous."

Owen chuckled as he crushed his lips back onto hers.

"Let's take this upstairs shall we?" He whispered.

"Thought you'd never ask." She answered as he pulled her up the stairs and into his room. He checked to see if Lucy was in there before he closed his door and pressed her up against it. A hand wandered up the back of her extremely short skirt to cup her backside. She raised an eyebrow and he thought she was going to pull away but she grabbed him by the back of the hair and pulled his lips down onto hers. "What about everyone downstairs?"

"They'll all leave eventually." He told her.

Gwen giggled as he took her hands and pulled her backwards onto his bed. He swiftly moved so she was beneath him.

"I'm going home tomorrow." She breathed as his teeth grazed the skin of her neck.

"Then we'd best make this a night to remember." He whispered.

Gwen gave his shoulders a gentle shove and flipped them so she was straddling his waist. He smirked up at her as she placed her hands on his chest and rolled her hips against his. His eyes slid shut as her hands disappeared under his shirt. He groaned loudly as she kept her hips rolling and dragged her nails down his chest and stomach. As he looked back at her, he grabbed her thighs and ran his hands up, squeezing as he went. Her hand disappeared inside his jeans and his hips bucked up into her hand as he let out a strangled cry. Gripping one of her thighs firmly in his hand, he moved the other one beneath her skirt. Her head flew back and she moaned as he ran his finger over her underwear. She looked back at him hungrily and crushed her lips onto his, plunging her tongue into his mouth. Owen rolled them back over and pressed her into his mattress.

What little clothes she was wearing were thrown to the floor joined seconds later by Owen's. Loud gasps and moans filled the room as their bodies entwined.

This wasn't a new experience for Gwen but the feeling she got from Owen was. With the other guys she'd been with, she always felt dirty afterwards and like an object rather than a person. With Owen however, she felt like he was almost worshipping her and trying to make her feel special. It was almost too overwhelming. There was another strange feeling beneath it all too, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

As soon as Gwen had appeared on his front door step, Owen had felt this strange connection with her. At first he'd thought it was just a physical attraction but when they were talking and he'd got to know her a bit better, he found she was actually a pretty cool person. He didn't normally get to know girls before he got them into bed but something inside him told him to hold back just for a few more minutes and talk to her.

Gwen woke up the next morning and panicked as she found herself in a strange bed. It took her a few moments to remember what happened and she looked nervously at Owen lying beside her. What did she do now? Had she overstayed her welcome?

She hadn't really slept with a guy afterwards. It had always been just a quick shag then she'd pull on her clothes and get out pretty quick.

She sat up and pulled the sheets tightly around her as she continued to watch Owen sleep. Was that what Owen had expected her to do? Would he be mad at her if he woke up and she was still there?

Gwen quickly swung her legs over the edge of the bed and went to get up. An arm suddenly snaked around her waist and pulled her back down. She gasped as Owen rolled on top of her.

"Where..." He whispered, kissing her shoulder. "Do you think..." He moved his lips to the base of her neck and up to her jaw line. "You're going?" He asked and kissed her lips gently but with the same amount of passion as last night.

"I didn't think...I thought maybe I was supposed to leave last night. I thought that might have been what you wanted." She admitted.

"Why would I want you to leave?" He asked.

"I've never spent the night before..." She said.

"Well, there's a first time for everything." He smiled. "So...I'm guessing, you've never done it the morning after either."

"No." She answered and shifted her legs to cradle him. "But there's a first time for everything, right?"

"You catch on quick." He grinned.

Their bodies were locked in a passionate embrace when the door burst open.

"Owen, have you seen – what the hell is going on?" A voice shouted.

Gwen and Owen jumped apart to see Lucy standing in the doorway. Gwen grabbed the sheets and wrapped them tightly around herself.

"Trust you to pick the wrong moment to walk in without knocking." Owen snapped.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lucy demanded as she glared at Gwen.

Gwen couldn't meet Lucy's eye and she looked down guiltily at the bed.

"Lucy, I think you're old enough to know what happens between a man and a woman." Owen answered.

"She's fourteen." Lucy argued.

"Fifteen next month." Owen replied, turning to look at Gwen.

She glanced at him and giggled before remembering that Lucy was still stood glaring at them both. She turned back and looked at her friend for the first time.

"He's my cousin, Gwen." Lucy said before turning and running out of the room.

"Lucy." Gwen called as she scrabbled off the bed. She shoved on her clothes and ran out after her friend. "Lucy, I'm sorry."

Owen sighed as he climbed out of bed and pulled on his pants. He grabbed Gwen's heels and followed them out.

The two girls were in the hallway when he joined them, Lucy standing at the door with Gwen standing at the foot of the stairs.

"How could you do this?" Lucy asked.

"I'm sorry Lucy, I really am. It just...happened. It didn't mean anything." Gwen told her.

"He's my cousin." She repeated.

"I know and I'm sorry. At least it wasn't your brother." Gwen tried to joke.

"He's as good as." Lucy shouted. "You're supposed to be my friend. You don't go...shagging your friend's cousin."

"Lucy come on, I think you're over reacting here." Owen said.

"Shut up. I'm not speaking to you, you slept with my best friend." Lucy snapped.

"I'm your best friend?" Gwen smiled hopefully.

"You were." Lucy replied coldly. "When I met your friends in Cardiff, I didn't believe them when they told me you liked to sleep around because I actually thought you were different. But they were right. You don't care about anyone's feelings but your own. I mean, it's alright for you. You can go back to Cardiff and forget this whole thing because you said it yourself, it meant nothing to you. But what about him? What if my stupid cousin thinks he's fallen in love with you?"

"He won't. It wasn't..." Gwen argued as she looked behind her at Owen. Owen's eyes locked with hers before he looked away quickly. "Like that."

"Yeah, really looks like it." Lucy nodded sarcastically.

Lucy shook her head and walked out of the house as Gwen continued to stare at Owen.

"I should...I should go. I have to leave in an hour anyway." She said.

She went to take her shoes from Owen but he held them out of her reach.

"Wait. I think we need to talk about what happened." He told her. "I'll admit, when I first saw you, I was just thinking of ways to get you into bed. But when we started talking, I felt this...connection."

"Owen, please don't. I'm sorry for causing trouble between you and your cousin, I hope you can work it out." She said and took her shoes from him. "Thanks for...last night. I had a good time – at the party. I had a good time at the party...bye."

She quickly turned and went to leave.

"Can I least have your number?" He asked. "If I'm ever down in Cardiff...maybe I could give you a call."

Gwen turned in the doorway and smiled sadly at him.

"I don't want to cause any more trouble between you and Lucy." She told him.

"Hang on." Owen called as she went to walk away again. "So if Lucy wasn't my cousin or if she hadn't have found out or if she was ok with us...would there be a chance of anything happening between us?"

She gazed at him sadly before turning and leaving. Owen hung his head and sighed as he turned to go back up the stairs, ignoring the mess from last night's party. Right now, he couldn't care less.

Footsteps padded back towards the house and he spun back around, praying it was Gwen. When Lucy walked in, his shoulders drooped and he sighed.

"Don't think I've come back to apologise, I forgot my bag." She told him as she walked into the living room to grab it. As she came back out, she noticed Gwen was missing. "Where's Gwen? She already back upstairs climbing into your bed?"

"No." Owen answered. "She's gone."

"Good riddance." Lucy spat. Owen gritted his teeth and started to walk back up the stairs. "I should have known she was no better than the girls -"

"Lucy shut up." Owen shouted, spinning back around. "Gwen __is__ different from all the others. __I__ was chatting her up, ok? I thought it was just going to be sex but then we had this kiss and I felt so...we would have...you had to go and interfere."

"I was trying to protect you like you've always done me. I didn't want you to get hurt. I just want you to be happy." She argued.

"Yeah well thanks to you, I've just lost what could have been my one shot at happiness." He replied. "No offence Lucy, but I'd rather be on my own right now."

Lucy stood speechless in the middle of the hallway as she watched Owen trudge back up the stairs.

Owen never forgot Gwen Cooper. He went on to Medical School and he dated other women but Gwen was always in the back of his mind.

Some nights he'd leave the curtains open and lie looking out at the stars. He'd think about her and wonder if she ever thought of him. Probably not, she was a beautiful, young woman who didn't want to waste her life moping over him. He certainly didn't want her to.

Then he got a job as a doctor in a hospital where he met Katie Russell. He felt that connection once again and he was finally getting another shot at happiness. Everything was slotting into place. He had a job he loved, a new home with Katie and she'd agreed to marry him. It was all perfect.

Until Torchwood and Captain Jack Harkness came along. It wasn't Torchwood's fault. They hadn't put the alien parasite in Katie's brain. Jack had told him that there was nothing they could have done to save her but to this day, Owen was convinced that they could have done something.

Now here he was, watching CCTV footage of a woman walking around the water tower on Tosh's monitor, thinking about his past relationships. What brought it on, he had no idea.

All he knew was that something about that woman raised goosebumps on his skin. He'd caught glimpses of her throughout the day but not enough of her to make him think he'd seen her before. Yet whenever she was around, he felt this strange feeling. Where did he know her from?

"I don't understand. A woman follows us around all day and I don't notice until it's too late. How could I not notice?" Owen asked.

"I think the more important question is 'what are we going to do'?" Tosh said.

"Nothing." Jack shrugged.

"Nothing? We can't let her find out about us." Toshiko argued.

"So what if she finds out?" Suzie shrugged. "You know Jack's just going to retcon her anyway."

She walked away from Tosh's workstation and went over to her own to resume her work on the resurrection glove, her interest in the situation over.

"Well, look she's leaving now. I don't think she's going to be much of a problem." Owen said.

"Oh, she'll be back." Jack smiled and disappeared into his office.

"Who is she anyway?" Owen asked.

"She's a police officer. She was at the John Tucker crime scene." Ianto told him.

"Yeah, but what's her name?" He insisted.

Ianto shrugged and walked away.

"What's up Owen? Does she look like one of your conquests and you can't remember her name?" Suzie asked from her workstation.

"No, no, of course not." He answered, though he narrowed his eyes and tried to think. "No, definitely not."

He cursed the CCTV footage for not being clear enough to see her properly.

Minutes later, Tosh curiously checked the footage to see if Jack was right.

"Jack, you were right." Tosh called. "She's back and heading in the direction of the tourist office."

"Alright guys." Jack grinned excitedly. "I want everyone to just completely ignore her when she comes in. Act like she's not even there. I want to see what she does. Ianto, go up and let her in. Send her straight down here."

The team nodded and each turned to their workstations to try and look busy. Jack disappeared somewhere in the higher levels of the Hub as Ianto left for his tourist shop.

Owen couldn't help but chuckle as a seriousness seemed to fall on the Hub. He took deep breaths to try and calm himself down. Tosh glanced at him and tried to force back a laugh of her own while Suzie smiled and rolled her eyes at them.

"Jack, she's in." Ianto called over the comms. "She's carrying pizzas from Jubilee Pizza. Seems to know your name. Just logged into the pizza store's records, they've got the tourist shop down under the name Torchwood."

Owen cleared his throat and shifted guiltily. He just managed to get it together in time as the door rolled open and he tried to look engrossed in the book he'd grabbed off his desk. He could hear slow, wary footsteps walking towards them and pause behind them. Owen couldn't hold it in any more and snorted. Tosh covered her mouth as she started to giggle.

"I can't do this. I'm sorry." Owen laughed as spun around in his chair. "I'm -"

"It's you." Owen and the brunette gasped.


	2. Chapter 2

Owen stared in shock as Gwen Cooper stared back at him, her eyes wide.

"Do you two know each other?" Jack frowned as he came back down the stairs.

"Sort of." Owen nodded. "We go back. Ladies and gentleman, this is Gwen Cooper."

"It's Police Constable Gwen Cooper." She corrected. "I...who are you? What's Torchwood? What's going on here? That man at the hospital, he...that creature thing...John Tucker. Who are you people?"

Owen could sense it was all getting a bit too much for her. He knew she must have thousands of questions and he had a few of his own.

"Jack, do you mind if I...take this one?" He asked, his eyes still locked with Gwen's.

"Seeing as you two are already acquainted, why not?" Jack shrugged.

Owen got up off his chair and walked over to her. She was holding the pizza boxes tightly in her shaking hands and she was watching him with a small amount of fright and something else. Sadness?

He gently pulled the boxes out of her hands and put them on the table. Gwen never took her eyes off him as he took hold of her arm and led her up some stairs.

"Come with me." He said gently. "It's ok, we're just going to the boardroom."

When they reached the meeting room, he pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit down. He took the seat opposite her and reached for her hands. She pulled them back slightly and he stopped.

"What are you – I don't understand. What is this place?" She asked. "How did you – why are you -"

"Gwen, I need you to listen to me." He told her. "What I'm going to tell you, it's going to be hard to believe but I need you to trust me, ok?"

He told her everything about Torchwood. He explained about the rift and aliens and all the technology that came through. He told her about Torchwood's function and it's aims to protect the human race from alien invasion. Everything up until the moment she stepped through the door.

Gwen sat back as she digested the information. He watched her face anxiously, waiting for signs of a breakdown or something.

"Wow." She whispered. "Aliens..." She leant forward and frowned as she looked into his eyes. "Are you sure you've not all just gone mad or something?"

"No, it's the truth." He laughed. "Come on, I'll show you. I'm going to take you to meet a real alien."

Owen held out his hand and she stared at it before smiling slightly and accepting it. There was a brief moment where he ran his thumb across the back of her hand and they both looked down at them. They looked at each other before quickly leaving the room.

He thought she was nervous as her grip on his hand tightened but when he looked back at her, she was staring at him like she had done just before she walked out of his front door. He'd never forgotten that look. It was the look that broke his heart.

They reached the cells and he let go of her hand to walk to the other end. She hesitated before following and approached warily. He watched her as she slowly came into view of the Weevil and her eyes widened as she stared at it.

"That's what killed the porter." She whispered and turned to look at him. "And you faked his death." Owen had explained to her everything that had happened to the porter once Jack had rushed her out of harms way. He nodded slowly, a grim expression on his face. "But what about his family? They deserve to know the truth."

"What do you think the truth is going to do to them?" He asked gently. "Do you really want to be responsible for people being scared stiff of leaving their house because they're worried things like this are going to fall out of the sky?"

"No, of course not. I just..." She sighed. "I have to tell someone. It's my duty as a police officer."

"Gwen you can't tell anyone." He told her. "If you did, there'd be panic everywhere. If any of this equipment or this stuff got into the wrong hands, it could be dangerous. We keep this secret because we're trying to protect people." Gwen looked as if she was about to protest but she sighed and turned to look back at the Weevil. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the rest of the team." He led her out of the cells and back up to the workstations. "So, Jack you already know." Jack stood in his doorway and gave her a small salute. "Toshiko Sato, Suzie Costello and Ianto Jones. Oh, and it's Doctor Owen Harper now."

"Hi." Gwen said timidly. "But...why are you telling me all this? This is classified stuff isn't it?"

"Way beyond classified." Jack nodded.

"Then...why? What are you going to do to me?" She asked, giving Owen a betrayed look.

Owen looked past her at Jack and she turned to look at the Captain. Jack shifted uncomfortably on his feet before nodding slightly at Owen. The younger man sighed, knowing he would be the one that had to do it. But when he looked at Gwen, he couldn't. He couldn't betray her like that.

"Owen, can I talk to you for a minute?" Jack asked.

Owen nodded and followed Jack into his office.

"I knew it would be me that had to do it." He mumbled. "Jack, I can't."

"How do you know her?" Jack asked.

"We...she was a friend of my cousins and we...I..." He answered. "Well...you know me..."

"Ah. Right." Jack nodded.

"But...I don't know...there's something...different about her." He tried to explain. "I can't do that to her."

"If it's too hard, you don't have to do it." Jack said as he picked up the tin of retcon pills.

Owen stared at Jack then down at the tin in his hands.

"No. If it has to be done...I'll do it." Owen nodded.

"Ok. If you're sure." Jack agreed.

"Just give me the damn thing." Owen mumbled. Jack handed him the little pill and he shoved it into his pocket. He walked out of the office and went to stand beside Gwen. "Do you erm...do you...want to go for a drink?"

Gwen bit her lip as she thought about it before nodding.

"Sure. Why not?" She smiled.

"Great." He smiled. "I'll buy."

It was the least he could do before he erased her memory.

They were sat at the bar after Owen had ordered drinks for them.

"So...how's Lucy?" Gwen asked quietly. "I haven't spoken to her since..."

She cleared her throat and looked away quickly.

"I wouldn't know." He shrugged. "We haven't spoken much since then either."

"Oh God. I'm really sorry." Gwen told him. "If I'd have known it was going to cause so much trouble, I wouldn't have..."

"It wasn't your fault. Lucy over reacts about everything." He said.

"I just feel so guilty. She's your cousin." Gwen said.

"Don't worry about it. We'll see each other again and it'll be water under the bridge." He shrugged. There were a few seconds of silence where they took a sip of their drinks. "So, you're a policewoman. When did that...happen?"

"Well, it's sort of thanks to Lucy really." She answered. "When I got back to Cardiff, I couldn't stop thinking about what she'd said. I tried to get on with my life, keep doing what I did but...I looked around and I just...I saw all these young girls, younger and older than me, doing exactly the same. They were going out, getting pissed and meeting boys and I just thought...what are these girls going to become? What was __I__ going to become? They were wasting their lives and I didn't want to do that. I decided to turn my life around. I stopped going to all these parties, I didn't drink as much, I tried to stay away from boys. I wanted to help these girls too – and not just them, other people too. I wanted to become a role model and what better role model than a police officer?"

"Wow." Owen said. "You sure you didn't just want to wear the gear? Because I bet you'd look hot in that."

Gwen blushed as she giggled into her drink.

"You haven't changed have you?" She smiled.

"You haven't changed that much either. I can still see that fourteen year old – almost fifteen." He grinned. She rolled her eyes and laughed. "I can still see her. I mean, you've...grown...since the last time." His eyes wandered over her curves before he looked back into her eyes. "And you're wearing a bit more."

"God, don't remind me." She laughed. "What the hell was I thinking back then?"

"I liked it." He told her.

Silence fell as they stared into each other's eyes.

"So – so – you're a doctor." She said quickly and turned to take a long sip of her drink.

"Yeah, I went to Medical School and I got a job at a hospital in London. Some...stuff happened and I ended up here at Torchwood Cardiff." He explained.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I'd rather not say. I...I'll explain it one day. I'd rather not talk about that on the day we meet up again after all these years." He said.

"Owen...I know we only knew each other for two days but...I missed you." She admitted.

"I looked for you, you know. When I moved to Cardiff, I tried to find you. I just thought it'd be good to catch up." He told her.

"Well you obviously didn't look that hard, I'm in the phone book." She laughed.

"No, I didn't...I guess I didn't look that hard. I was scared I'd find out you were married or something." He admitted. Gwen's smile fell as she looked into his eyes. "Are you...with anyone...at the minute?"

"No." She answered quickly. Gwen had no idea what possessed her to lie. She just couldn't stop herself. She turned to face the bar and took another long sip of her drink. "What about you?"

"No, I'm not seeing anyone." He replied.

"Oh." She said.

"You know, my memory has not done you any justice." Owen told her. "Whenever I thought about you, I saw this beautiful, young girl but you're even more stunning than I remember."

Gwen blushed furiously and he smiled as he watched her giggling shyly.

"Oh stop it." She grinned.

"No, it's true." He replied. "Do you...remember that kiss on the stairs?"

"I never forgot." Gwen whispered after a few seconds. "It was the first time anyone ever made me feel..."

She let her voice trail off and he waited for her to continue but she didn't. The way she looked at him told him everything he needed to know.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Me too."

They both finished their drinks and he bought them both another one. Coke for him as he was driving.

"I'll be right back." She said as she stood up. "It's been great to see you again, Owen."

"Yeah, you too." He nodded.

Gwen placed her hand on his arm and squeezed before heading over to the ladies.

Owen watched her go, his hand wandering to the place she'd touched as he pulled the retcon pill out of his pocket. He stared down at the tiny, white pill in the palm of his hand and at her drink. All he could picture in his mind was that betrayed look she'd given him earlier and it broke his heart. He couldn't do it. Not after he'd just got her back. He wasn't going to let her slip through his fingers again.

If he didn't do it though, Jack would be furious. He could lose his job.

Owen clenched his fist around the pill and gritted his teeth. Bloody Torchwood getting in the way of his happiness once again.

He looked around and spotted her walking back towards him. His heart leapt as she gave him that dazzling smile he hadn't seen in ten years. He couldn't do it.

He shoved the pill back in his pocket as she sat down.

"Everything alright?" She asked.

"Look, Gwen there's -" Owen held his face in his hands and took a deep breath. "I'm going to get into so much trouble if Jack finds out."

"Owen, what is it?" Gwen asked. He took another deep breath and pinched his nose. "You're starting to scare me. You can tell me, I won't tell anyone."

She pulled his hand away from his face and held it in hers. Owen suddenly grabbed her hand in both of his and held it tightly.

"Gwen, I need you to swear to me that you won't tell anyone anything you've seen or heard about Torchwood. I need you to swear to me that you'll keep it all a secret." He said.

"Who's going to believe me?" Gwen laughed.

"Swear to me." He repeated firmly. Her expression turned serious as his face softened and she saw the pleading in his eyes. "Please Gwen."

"I swear, I won't tell anyone." She promised.

"And I need you to do something else for me." He told her.

"Anything." She nodded.

"If you see us, I need you to act like you don't know us." He said.

"Of course." She nodded. "I understand it's dangerous and if people saw me talking to the mysterious Torchwood, questions are going to be raised."

"No, it's more than that." He argued. Owen sighed as he tried to think of a way to explain. "I need you to pretend you've never met us before, like we're just strangers you pass on the street every day. Even if we're not working, you can't say anything to us."

"But I know you. Can't I speak to you?" Gwen frowned.

"Gwen, I was supposed to retcon you tonight." He told her.

"What's retcon?" She asked.

Owen took the pill out of his pocket and showed it to her.

"It's an amnesia pill. Specially targeted to remove any memories of Torchwood from a persons mind." He explained.

"If you were supposed to give it to me...then why haven't you?" She frowned.

"Because I can't. I don't want to. If you take this, you'll forget you'd seen me again and I can't know you're out there but you have no idea I'm here." He answered. "You mean...I can't..."

"What?" She whispered. "What can't you do?"

"I can't lose you again." He whispered.

All Gwen wanted to do was lean across and kiss him but there was one tiny detail stopping her.

"So if I see you on the street...I have to act like I haven't seen you in years?" She asked.

"Jack will be careful. He won't let you see me again. He won't let you see __any__ of us again. One specific image could break through the retcon and you could remember everything." He answered.

"So I'm never going to see you again?" She asked sadly.

"Of course you will. I'll make sure you do. We just can't let my boss find out. If he finds out I didn't retcon you, I could lose my job and we'd both be in trouble. He'll retcon you himself and probably me too." He explained.

They finished their drinks and he offered her a lift home. She'd bit her lip and looked at him like she had done when he asked her out for a drink. Eventually she agreed and let him drive her to her flat.

They pulled up outside and Gwen turned to smile at him.

"I had a really great time tonight, Owen." She told him. "I hope we get to do it again some time soon."

"Yeah me too." He smiled. "So...can I have your number now?"

Gwen smiled as she took the pen and piece of paper he was holding out to her.

"I'll see you soon...I hope." She said as she scribbled her number down and passed it to him. As she put it in his hand, he closed his around hers and looked deep into her eyes. Gwen's breath caught and she suddenly launched herself across the gap and wrapped her arms around his neck. She hugged him tight and rested her head on his shoulder. "I have really missed you." She whispered.

Owen closed his eyes as he breathed in the scent he remembered so well and wrapped his arms around her. He placed one hand in her hair and buried his face in her shoulder.

"I missed you too." He told her. "You still give the best hugs."

Her lips placed a gentle kiss on his cheek and she pulled back slightly. Their noses brushed as they gazed into each other's eyes. Gwen's eyes dropped to his lips as her breath shook. Just as Owen was about to close the gap between them, Gwen quickly pulled out of his grasp and grabbed the door handle.

"I've got to go." She said quickly as she climbed out of the car.

"Wait, Gwen." He called, leaning across to look at her out of the open door. "What's wrong?"

"Owen, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I had a really great time with you. Goodnight Owen." She said and quickly walked away.

As she went, she took deep breaths and wondered how she was going to face her boyfriend after what had just almost happened.

Owen stared after her, confused and slightly hurt. He sat back in his seat in stunned silence, the engine still running. Had he done something wrong? Had he said something wrong? Was there something he was meant to have said?

After a few moments, he closed her door and pulled away.

He didn't want to go but he knew Jack would expect him to report back to the Hub. He just prayed he hadn't been watching them and that he'd buy the lie.

As he entered the Hub, he noticed the others still there. He was surprised as it was late at night now and they'd usually all have gone home by now. It seemed however, they were waiting for him.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it alright." He said as he walked over to the workstations. "I did it, the job's done. It's over."

The team watched as he walked out of the Hub again before turning to look at Jack who was standing in the doorway. The Captain looked down in sadness and guilt.

"I've never seen Owen like that." Tosh said. "She must have really meant something to him."

"I guess she did." Jack nodded quietly. "I've done it again. Took away the only two women that made him happy and could have made him happy."

"Jack, it's not your fault." Ianto argued. "You couldn't save Katie and you did what you had to do with Gwen. It's Torchwood's rules."

"Yeah. But is it a Torchwood rule to take away everything that makes members of the team happy? Why shouldn't Owen be allowed to have a life outside Torchwood? Why shouldn't any of you?" Jack asked. "Maybe just this once, I've done something wrong."

Tosh, Suzie and Ianto all glanced at each other as Jack disappeared into his office and closed the door behind him.

It wasn't hard for Owen to act like he'd just lost the woman he could possibly be in love with because he felt like he had. The evening was going so well and then...that happened. She'd run away from him. Just like the last time.

The next day, Owen was sat at his workstation slowly moving from side to side on his spinning chair. He stared blankly at the computer screen in front of him, ignoring everything going on around him. He hadn't been able to concentrate on anything all day apart from one thought. Gwen Cooper.

After a couple of hours, Owen grew tired of thinking up all these questions in his head and he wanted answers. He grabbed his phone and glanced up at the boardroom to see if it was empty. When he saw that it was, he looked around at the others before sprinting up to the meeting room.

Sitting himself in one of the chairs, Owen dialled Gwen's number and leant forward on the table as he waited for her to pick up. The phone rang on and went through to voice mail.

"Hey Gwen, it's Owen. I need to know what happened last night. I don't understand, we were having such a great time and then...please, I need to understand. You're all I've been able to think about since that night ten years ago. You're not walking out of my life that easily again." He said. "Please meet me in the Bay at six tonight. I hope you'll come."

Owen put the phone down and sighed as he sat back in his chair. As he started to spin his phone between his fingers, footsteps approached the meeting room but he ignored them.

"You still moping over that bloody policewoman?" Suzie asked as she entered the room. Owen closed his eyes and took deep breaths, gripping his phone tightly in his hand. This was not the time for Suzie's sarcastic comments. "We've never seen you this upset over a woman. She must be really great in bed for you to get this upset about losing her."

"Suzie, it's more than that ok." He snapped. "She's...look, I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand what it feels like."

"Listen Owen." Suzie sighed, leaning against the table next to where he was sat. "She's forgotten all about you now. Why don't you come back to mine and I'll make you forget about her."

Owen stared at her for a few seconds before standing up. She smirked as he leant in towards her, their lips almost touching.

"No thanks Suzie." He whispered and walked away. "Oh and Suzie..." He turned to look at her. "I've told you before, I'm not interested any more."

He walked away, well aware that Suzie would be glaring at his back.

By half past five, Owen was starting to get irritable and paced the Hub, wondering if Gwen was going to show. He'd given up trying to do any work an hour ago. Now he was annoying his team mates by walking around the Hub, mumbling to himself.

"Owen, is everything ok?" Jack called from his office.

"Fine." Owen answered. "Listen, I have to go somewhere. Don't know if I'll be coming back. See you."

With that, Owen grabbed his jacket and ran out the rolling door. Tosh, Ianto and Jack all stared at each other in confusion.

"What was that all about?" Tosh asked.

"A certain policewoman, I expect." Suzie muttered to herself, eyeing the alien knife they'd found with the resurrection glove.

As Owen walked out onto the Bay, he pulled the gizmo he'd taken from Tosh's desk out of his pocket. He stood out of shot of the CCTV cameras he knew Torchwood were watching over and hid the gizmo beneath his jacket so the people walking past wouldn't see it. Turning to each camera in turn, he pointed the gizmo at them and knocked them out. He'd turn them back on later, he just couldn't risk any of the team spotting him with Gwen. He walked over to the railings and leant his arms on them to look out over the Bay. Now he just had to wait and see if Gwen would turn up.

For half an hour, Owen clasped and unclasped his hands nervously. His heart was pounding and his mouth was becoming dry. He had his back turned so he didn't see the figure approaching behind him.

"Mind if I join you?" A voice asked and a hand was placed on his back.

Owen spun around and breathed a sigh of relief as he came face to face with Gwen.

"You came." He smiled.

"After a message like that, how could I not?" She replied.

"Gwen, why did you leave like that last night?" He asked. She sighed and looked down at the floor. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no you didn't." She answered as she looked back up at him. "It wasn't you. It was..." Gwen took his hands in hers and looked into his eyes. "There's something I have to tell you." She took a deep breath. "Owen, I'm -"

He interrupted her as his lips were suddenly on hers. At first she didn't respond but then she pulled her hands out of his and he thought she was going to push him away or hit him. Instead, her hands fisted in his hair as her lips moved in perfect sync with his. When he pulled away, she was looking up at him in shock.

"I'm sorry." He said quickly. "I didn't mean to kiss you. I just couldn't help it."

"Don't worry about it. It's fine." She whispered, looking away.

"Anyway, you were saying." He said.

She looked back at him and took his hands once again.

"Yes. Erm...Owen, I'm...I'm not..." She tried to tell him the truth. Her mind was screaming at her to tell him the truth but she couldn't. She pulled him into a hug and clung onto him tightly as tears started to fall down her face. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok." He whispered as he held her close. "What is it you want to tell me? You can tell me anything. I won't get mad I promise."

"I just wanted to say that...I haven't...been honest with you." She whispered.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I was...I was scared to tell you." She sobbed as she pulled away.

"Hey, hey, hey." He said gently, holding her face in his hand. "You don't have to be scared of telling me anything."

"I was scared to tell you that...I haven't stopped thinking about you either." She half lied.

"Why were you scared to tell me that?" He laughed.

"Because...until you told me you'd been the same, I didn't want to tell you in case you didn't feel the same." She told him.

"Gwen, I...I love you." He said. "I know, we've known each other three days now but...I can't help it."

"I love you too." She smiled. "God, we hardly know anything about each other."

"I know enough to know that I love you." He replied. "And I know I'll love everything else I'll learn about you."

Their lips met in a tender kiss as they held each other tight. She couldn't fight it any more even though she knew it was wrong.

Before either of them could think about how, they both ended up at Owen's flat with their lips still locked together. They fell onto his bed, their arms wrapped tightly around each other.

A few hours later, Owen lay pressing kisses to Gwen's cheeks, neck and shoulders. She'd gone quiet and he could sense something wrong but he wanted her to tell him without having to ask and making her feel like he was forcing it out of her. He lay on his side beside her and ran his finger up and down her arm. She wouldn't look at him and she looked close to tears again.

"Gwen, what's wrong?" He asked after another couple of minutes of silence.

"Nothing. It's...nothing." She answered quietly and shook her head. "I...I have to go."

She climbed out of the bed and started to dress.

"Why?" He asked as he sat up.

"I just...need to go." She told him. She finished dressing and turned to look at him. He watched as she walked towards him and brought her lips down to his. "I'll see you again soon, I promise. I've got your number so I'll call you. Goodbye."

She kissed him gently and went to leave. Owen grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Stay. Please." He begged.

"I can't Owen." She replied sadly.

"Why not?" He frowned.

"Because...I have work tomorrow and I just..." She sighed and looked at him. "Alright, I'll stay."

Owen smiled and pulled her down into a kiss.

"I'll order us a pizza." He told her and got up, pulling on a pair of pants as he left.

"You do that. I just...need to make a call." She told him.

Owen got that sense of something being wrong again as he watched her leave the flat. He ignored it, not wanting to spoil the evening, and ordered the pizza.

When she came back in, he noticed a guilty look on her face and she sighed as the door clicked shut behind her.

"Gwen, is everything ok?" He asked.

"Fine. It's fine." She answered quickly and smiled at him. She quickly crossed the room to him and kissed him. "Everything's perfect."

The pizza arrived and they sat cross legged on the sofa facing each other as they ate.

"I can't believe you actually came into the Hub delivering pizzas." Owen laughed. "Jack gave me a right telling off this morning for giving away our location to a pizza shop."

"I'm sorry. If it wasn't for me sticking my nose in, you wouldn't have been found out." Gwen said.

"He would have found out eventually." He sighed. "And I'm rather glad you did stick that cute nose of yours in."

Gwen smiled shyly as she took a bite out of her slice of pizza.

When they slipped into bed that night, Gwen lay on her side and Owen moulded himself into her with his arms wrapped tightly around her. He kissed the back of her neck and breathed in her scent. He placed his hand over her heart causing her to giggle.

"Just have a feel why don't you. Help yourself." She laughed.

"Don't mind if I do." He breathed.

Gwen's eyes slid shut and a quiet moan escaped her lips as Owen's hands wandered over her. He slowly rolled her over to face him and she suddenly looked at him, her eyes dark and hungry. Owen's hands froze as he stared back with the same amount of hunger. Their lips met and teeth clashed as he pushed her onto her back and pressed his body onto hers. Gwen clawed at his back as she tried to pull him closer than was physically possible. The way Gwen was screaming his name made Owen wonder if the neighbours would think he was killing her.

Owen woke up the next morning feeling extremely satisfied and happier than he had been in a very long time. He looked at the woman sleeping beside him and smiled.

The morning sun cast a warm glow over her, softening her features. Her hair was ruffled and spread out on the pillow. There were marks forming on her shoulders and chest from where his lips and teeth had been last night.

He was mesmerised by the way her chest rose and fell as she breathed and didn't notice her eyes flutter open.

"Perv." She mumbled as she caught him looking. She was smiling sleepily when he looked at her. "Am I going to have to sleep with one eye open next time?"

"Oh so there's going to be a next time?" He smirked.

Gwen's face suddenly dropped and her eyes widened. She swallowed as she tried to find a way out of the conversation. Owen saw her glance over his shoulder at his alarm clock on the bedside table.

"Oh God, look at the time. I have to go." She said quickly and jumped out of bed.

"Wait, I'll give you a lift to work." He said as he sat up.

"No, it's ok. I'm not going straight to work. I have to go home and shower and pick up some stuff." She told him.

"You can use my shower and I'll give you a lift home." He shrugged.

"I...I have to...I can't...yeah, ok." She said.

"Cool. Well, how about I join you in the shower?" He grinned and wriggled his eyebrows.

Gwen couldn't help but smile as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist. He nuzzled her neck causing her to giggle.

Taking her hand in his, he led her into his bathroom. Gwen gasped as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She started rubbing at the purple marks on her shoulders and neck as if it would make them go away. Owen frowned as he watched her.

"Shit." She gasped. "How the hell am I meant to cover these? What am I going to say?"

"Gwen, your clothes will cover them." He frowned. "No one's going to be able to see them unless you take your clothes off. And why are you so bothered about a few marks? Who cares if people can see you have a sex life? They should be thinking about their own, not yours. I don't care if people see these." He said, gesturing to the red scratches on the tops of his arms and the ones that were more than likely on his back.

"Yes but that's different. I have a boy – a boss." She corrected quickly and avoided his gaze. "A boss who – who is very strict about these things. He says it looks unprofessional."

"Yeah but like I said, he's not going to see them unless you take your clothes off." He shrugged.

He turned on the shower and pulled her into it, though her eyes stayed locked on her reflection.

That suspicious feeling began to grow in Owen's mind as Gwen seemed to go quiet again. It wasn't just that though that set off his suspicions. Her phone had gone off while they were dressing and she'd pounced on it as he went to grab it to pass it to her.

When he drove her to her flat, she asked him to pull over a few feet away.

"Seriously Gwen, is there something wrong?" He asked.

"No. No, nothing's wrong." She answered. "I just thought, you know, we have to be careful because your boss can't find out about us. We don't want him seeing you drop me off outside my flat."

"Oh...right." He said, seeing through her lie.

Gwen smiled as she leant across the gap and captured his lips in a gentle kiss.

"I'll see you soon." She said and pecked his lips one last time. Just before she opened the door, she turned to face him. "Oh, I forgot to ask earlier. The forensics team at the station have worked out what the murder weapon used to kill John Tucker and the others looks like, sounds like it might be right up your lots street. Apparently they think it's some knife with these three weird blade things. Nasty looking thing it was. Have you seen anything like that?"

"No, I don't think so." Owen answered, not really thinking about it as he tried to figure out what Gwen was hiding.

"Oh." She said disappointedly. "Well, if you come across anything like it, let me know."

"Will do." He nodded. She started to climb out of the car as he called to her. "I love you."

She turned and smiled at him.

"I love you too." She replied.

She waved and blew him a kiss as he drove away.

Owen walked into the Hub and froze as his eyes fell on Suzie's workstation.

"They think it's some knife with these three weird blade things." He heard Gwen's voice tell him.

On the desk beside the resurrection glove was a knife. A knife with three blades. A knife with three blades that only one person handled. Suzie Costello.

It couldn't be though, it was impossible. Suzie could be a little strange at times but she'd never kill someone. Would she?

He stared at the knife and began to think. It was definitely unique. He'd never seen another one like it and how many others could be out there? Especially after they'd found out that the metal it was made out of was the same as the glove and was most definitely alien.

Oh shit.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack and Suzie came down from the meeting room, laughing about something. His eyes lingered on Suzie and she frowned slightly as she spotted him. Owen quickly turned his attention to the Captain.

"Jack, I need to talk to you about something." He said urgently.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you too." Jack nodded. "About Gwen Cooper." Owen noticed a flash of something cross Suzie's face as Jack mentioned Gwen's name. "I think I made a mistake when I asked you to retcon her."

"Yeah, listen – wait – what? Really?" He asked then shook his head. "No, Jack, I have to speak to you. It's urgent."

"Go ahead." Jack said.

"I'd rather speak to you alone." Owen told him.

"Ok." Jack frowned. Owen followed him into his office. Suzie's eyes narrowed as she watched them go. "Alright, what is it?"

"Ok, please don't interrupt or anything because what I have to tell you is important and we don't have time to waste arguing." Owen explained.

"Ok...I'll keep my mouth shut." Jack promised.

"Right." Owen nodded and took a deep breath. "I didn't retcon Gwen." He could see Jack was about to say something but he held up his hand to stop him. "And it turns out it's a good job I didn't. This morning, she told me that the forensics department at the police station had figured out what was used to kill John Tucker and the other murder victims. They've figured out that it was a knife – not just any knife. A knife with three blades. Sound familiar?"

Jack's eyes widened as he looked past Owen out of his office window at Suzie's desk.

"The knife we found with the glove." He whispered.

Owen nodded grimly.

"And who's the only one that's touched the knife since we found it?" Owen asked.

"Suzie." He answered. "Oh God. But she wouldn't...she couldn't...why? Look, don't tell any of the others. I'll keep my eye on Suzie." Owen nodded and the two left his office. "I'm a little angry that you didn't retcon Gwen like I asked you too though. You disobeyed orders and I should punish you for that." Jack said as they went over to Owen's workstation. "But...seeing as she seems to mean a lot to you, I guess I won't."

Owen glanced at Suzie and noticed her clench her jaw and purse her lips.

Throughout the day, Owen couldn't help but stare at Suzie as she worked. It was just so hard to believe that one of his team mates could be a murderer. Yet the more he thought about it, the more he began to think that maybe Suzie was capable of murder. If it had been Tosh or Ianto, he would never have believed it. It just wasn't in their nature. But Suzie...

Owen had an autopsy to perform and as he went down to the autopsy bay, he didn't see Suzie walk over to where his jacket was hanging over the back of his chair and take out his phone.

Once he was done, he sat at his workstation and started to fill in a report. His phone started to ring and he quickly grabbed it. He smiled as he noticed it was Gwen.

"Hey gorgeous." He smiled. "What's up?"

"What's up with me? What's up with you? You text me half an hour ago telling me to meet you at the water tower because it was an emergency. I ran out of work as soon as I got the message, I'm on my way now." She said. "Owen, what's going on? I thought you said I couldn't see you when you were working. It's too dangerous. Oh my God, did they find out? Do they know you didn't give me the amnesia pill?"

"Gwen, what are you talking about?" He frowned. "I didn't -" That was when Owen noticed Suzie was missing. He ran over to her workstation and saw that the knife, too, was missing. "Oh my God, Gwen turn around and go back to the station. Don't go to the water tower. It wasn't me that sent the message."

"It's too late." She said. "I'm here."

"Shit." Owen growled. "I'm on my way up." He hung up and ran to Jack's office. "Jack, we've got a problem. Suzie sent Gwen a message on my phone telling her to meet her at the water tower. Both her and the knife are missing. Gwen's up there now."

Jack grabbed his gun and ran out of his office to the invisible lift. He went to activate it with his wrist strap as Owen jumped on but it wouldn't move.

"Suzie's jammed the controls." He shouted.

"Fuck." Owen shouted. "We'll never get out fast enough. She did it on purpose so we'd have to take the tourist shop entrance."

"We could still get there in time." Jack said as he started to run towards the rolling door.

Owen quickly followed, praying he was right.

Gwen shivered as she waited for Owen to appear. It was a cold, wet day and she'd had a stressful day at work. She was going to be extremely pissed off if this was a prank.

A woman suddenly stepped out from behind the water tower, startling Gwen. It took her a few moments to recall where she knew her from.

"Suzie, right? You work with Owen." Gwen said. "Is he on his way?"

"I expect so." Suzie shrugged. "But he won't get here in time."

Something about this woman was giving Gwen the creeps and she subconsciously took a step back. Suzie noticed and smirked. Gwen's eyes widened as Suzie brought out a knife from her bag. She recognised it as the one from the sketch on the evidence board at the police station.

"I'm arresting you for the murder of three people." Gwen told her and took a step forward.

"Four." Suzie corrected.

"Who else have you murdered?" Gwen demanded.

"You." She answered.

"Why? Why did you murder those three people?" Gwen whispered.

Suzie's eyes seemed to light up with some sick kind of excitement.

"To test the resurrection gauntlet." She said. "To see what makes it work. It works better with violent deaths. The more I use it, the more I can control it. If I can get the glove working properly, imagine what I could do with all that power. It could resurrect the dead. Bring back all your loved ones. The victim's never saw me twice because I'd just position myself behind the head."

"But if you kill me and you use that glove on me, I will tell them what you've done." Gwen warned.

"Oh they already know." Suzie replied. "I knew the minute Owen walked into the Hub this morning that he knew. But I'll be gone before they find your poor, sad body."

"So why do you want to kill me?" Gwen asked.

"Because you're all the team talks about. You've captured Owen Harper's heart. He's been moping around the Hub, making everyone think he retconned you and making everyone feel sorry for you both." Suzie spat.

"You're in love with Owen." Gwen realised.

"Me? In love with Owen?" Suzie laughed.

"Of course. You can't stand it that he's found someone that makes him happy and it's not you." Gwen said.

"I don't think so." Suzie said. "I admit I'm jealous but only because I've lost my easy shag." Gwen's eyes widened and Suzie laughed bitterly. "He didn't tell you about us did he? We've been doing it for years. There was nothing in it of course. Just sex. Wild sex."

Gwen saw Owen and Jack approaching from behind Suzie and they motioned for her to keep quiet. Suzie put the knife back in her bag and pulled out a gun. Gwen swallowed as Suzie pointed it at her.

"Please, put the gun down." Gwen said as calmly as she could.

Tears started to pour down Suzie's face as she kept the gun pointed at Gwen.

"You've ruined everything." Suzie sobbed. "I loved this job. You had to swan in and stir things up."

Gwen felt tears of her own start to fall as Suzie took the safety off the gun.

"Please don't do this." Gwen begged.

Jack had his gun pointed at Suzie and Owen slowly drew his to point it at her.

"Suzie, put the gun down." Jack said calmly but firmly.

The sound of Jack's voice startled Suzie and her finger squeezed the trigger. A gunshot sounded and Gwen was thrown back onto the pavement.

"No!" Owen bellowed as he ran to Gwen's side. "Gwen, sweetheart, speak to me." Gwen was shaking as he rolled her onto her back and her eyes were wide as she sobbed. He checked her for gunshot wounds and found the bullet lodged in the collar of her stab vest. "You're bloody lucky you didn't change before you came here. Another millimetre to the left and...still, it's pretty close to the edge of the vest. I'll take a look but I think you'll be fine."

He pulled her into a sitting position and held her tight as she clung to him. He glared up at Suzie who stared back in shock.

"Suzie, give me the gun." Jack said and held out his hand.

Owen let go of Gwen and stood up, pointing his gun at Suzie as he seethed.

"If you try and hurt her again, I'll kill you." Owen shouted.

"Owen." Jack warned.

"Do you hear me? You go near her again and I'll make sure it's the last thing you do." Owen spat. "You're a sick, disgusting murderer."

"Owen, calm down." Jack ordered.

"Please, don't." Gwen begged quietly from behind him.

Owen continued to glare at Suzie then threw his gun down and turned away.

"It's over, Suzie." Jack said. Suzie looked between Jack, Owen and Gwen in desperation. She looked back at Gwen before pointing the gun under her own chin and pulling the trigger. "Suzie!" He shouted.

Jack looked down at Suzie's lifeless body in sorrow as Owen quickly knelt back beside Gwen. Gwen held onto the front of his jacket and hid her face in his chest so she wouldn't have to look at Suzie.

"It's alright sweetheart. You're ok." He whispered. He ran his hand through her hair and kissed the top of her head as he gently rocked her. "It's over. You're safe." After Jack and Ianto had taken Suzie's body to the morgue, Owen took Gwen down to the autopsy room to check the bullet hadn't done any serious damage. "I'll need you to...erm...remove your vest and...open your shirt." Silently, Gwen did as he said and he took a deep breath as he stepped closer to take a look. He ran his finger over an angry red mark on her collarbone. "It's just a small burn, nothing too bad. God, you were so bloody lucky."

Owen held his face in her hands and ran his thumbs over her tear streaked cheeks. She hadn't stopped crying and he could feel his own tears burning in his eyes. He closed his eyes as he leant his forehead against hers.

After a while, Owen pulled back and helped her dress before heading up to the Captain's office.

Jack sat behind his desk while Owen was sat on the other side, Gwen in his lap. She was still badly shaken up and was sobbing silently into his shoulder. Ianto and Tosh stood around them.

"I just...can't believe it." Tosh said quietly.

"She did spend a lot of time working on the glove and the knife." Ianto told them. "It was like she'd become obsessed with them."

"She let the job consume her." Jack sighed. "I don't think she knew what she let herself in for when she started work on them."

"She knew exactly what she was doing." Owen said bitterly.

"Owen, she was one of your friends." Jack said.

"Me and Suzie were never friends." He replied.

"Stop trying to play the hero just because your girlfriend's here." Jack said. Gwen quickly pulled back and locked eyes with Owen. "Oops, did I put my foot in it? Have you not told her how you feel?"

"You know I love you." Owen said to Gwen.

"I do." She nodded. "And I love you too. We just...never said anything about being...boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Well...don't you want to be?" He asked. Owen watched her bite her lip and glance around at the others. He brushed a hair behind her ear and wiped away the last of her tears as she looked back at him. "Gwen?"

She stared into his eyes for a few seconds before placing her lips over his. He held her face in his hand as he gently kissed her back. When they pulled away, she placed her head on his shoulder and he locked his arms around her tightly.

"So what do we tell Suzie's family?" Ianto asked, bringing the conversation back to its original topic.

"What do we know about her family?" Tosh enquired. "I've already checked her records and it looks like she deleted them before she left."

She folded her arms and looked around at the others.

The team looked around at each other, waiting for someone to answer the question.

"Ianto, you usually know everything about everything and everyone around here." Owen said.

"Don't look at me." He said quickly. "Jack recruited her, he should know something."

Everyone looked at Jack but he shrugged and held his hands up. Gwen looked between him and the rest of the team.

"None of you know anything about her?" She asked.

"Suzie was...very private." Owen answered.

"Look, I'll do what I can to try and find Suzie's family." Jack said. "Owen, take Gwen home and the rest of you just...go home. We've all had an emotional day."

"You going to ask Owen to retcon me again?" Gwen asked as she stood up off Owen's lap.

"No." Jack answered. "Owen deserves someone special in his life and you're that someone. I can't take that away from him."

Owen smiled as he put his arm around Gwen's waist.

"Come on. Let's get you home." He said.

"What about my car?" She asked.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning if you want and take you back so you can get it." He suggested.

"No." She shouted. "I'll...take a walk down at lunch time, come and see you for a bit before I drive back to work. If that's...ok with you."

"Yeah." He nodded with a slight frown. "That's fine."

They hardly said anything to each other on the way to Gwen's flat. Owen put it down to her still feeling a little shaken up by what had happened. That's what he wanted to believe was the reason behind her silence. He had a feeling however, that it was connected with her strange behaviour these past couple of days.

Once they reached the end of her road, Gwen peered out the window as if looking for something and he waited to see if she'd ask him to pull over. When she didn't, he continued on and pulled up outside her flat.

"Thanks for the lift." She smiled. She quickly glanced out of the windows before leaning across to kiss him. "I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

"Love you too." He replied. "Look erm...do you want me to...I can...stay if you like – you know, because you've had quite a traumatic day. I don't want you to be on your own if...you need someone to be there."

"I'll be fine." She told him. "I'm sorry about Suzie. I know you're putting on this brave face but I...I know you two were...close..."

"She told you did she?" Owen laughed bitterly and rolled his eyes. "I had a feeling she would if she ever saw you again. It meant nothing though, honestly. I ended it months ago but she...she refused to believe it was over." Gwen gave him a sad smile before turning to get out of the car. "Oh, I was right by the way." She turned and looked at him questioningly. "You do look hot in that police gear."

She blushed as she shut the car door behind her and watched him drive away.

Over the next couple of weeks, he started to get suspicious again. When he text or called Gwen, she wouldn't always answer. Once when she did, she was whispering and he heard a male voice shouting to her in the background. She'd claimed it was her boss and he'd caught her making a phone call when she should have been on duty. When they'd ended the call, Owen wondered what kind of boss, apart from Jack, would call his employees 'sexy arse'.

Also, he'd sometimes go days without seeing her and she'd tell him she'd been busy at work.

Another thing he'd noticed was that she would come over to his flat and sometimes stay the night but he'd never once been to hers. He'd dropped her off plenty of times but he'd never been inside.

Owen never questioned her on it because he was so happy with her, he didn't want to spoil it.

One night, they were lying together on his sofa, the television switched off. They were just enjoying the quiet together, their fingers locked together and he ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

"I'll be right back." She said and captured his lips in a tender kiss.

He smiled as she stood up and walked into the bathroom. Her phone started to ring and he glanced at the door and then her phone. Sitting up, he picked it up off the table and checked the screen. It was someone called Rhys.

"Hello?" He asked as he answered it.

"Hello? Who the hell is this?" Rhys replied.

"I'm Gwen's..." Owen suddenly got a bad feeling about this call. "Friend. I'm a friend. My name's Owen."

"Where's Gwen?" Rhys demanded.

"She's busy at the minute. Can I take a message?" Owen asked.

"Yeah, tell her Rhys, her boyfriend in case she's forgotten who I am, called. He'd like to know if he'd be seeing her again any time soon." He snapped.

"I'll let her know." Owen said and put the phone down.

He leant forward and looked down at the floor, the phone clutched tightly in his hand. He heard Gwen come back into the room but he didn't look up as she stood in front of him.

"Owen? What's wrong?" She asked.

"Rhys called." He answered, putting the phone down on the table. "Wanting to know when he'd be seeing his girlfriend again." He looked up at her and she was staring down at him, her eyes wide. "Why didn't you tell me you were seeing someone?"

"I don't know. I – I was scared that if I told you I had a boyfriend, I wouldn't see you again." She told him.

He stood up and walked over to the other side of the room. After a few moments, he turned to face her.

"What's going on here Gwen? What exactly is going on between us?" He asked. "Do you really want to be with me? Or am I just..." He suddenly remembered her disappointment when he told her he didn't know anything about the John Tucker case. "You're just sleeping with me to get answers."

"What?" She gasped. "Of course I'm not. I love you Owen. I really love you. I have done since the moment I laid eyes on you. I would never use you like that."

He saw the sincerity in her eyes and nodded.

"So what about him? Do you still love him?" He asked.

"I...I don't know." She answered. "I thought I did...I...maybe..."

"Were you ever going to tell me?" He demanded.

"Yes. I would have told you and I would have told you soon. I hated keeping this from you but I...I just...never managed to pluck up the courage." She admitted.

"Well, which one of us is it?" He said. "Me or him?"

He waited for her to answer. She stared at him in silence, her bottom lip between her teeth.

"You." She suddenly whispered as if she'd just realised the answer to the most obvious question. "It's always been you." She walked over to him and held his face in her hands. "I love you more than anyone I've ever loved before." He smiled and brushed a hair from her face. "I want to be with you. I want you to be the one to come to my rescue when aliens decide to take over Cardiff and hold me hostage."

"Well I hope that never happens." He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Her arms went around his neck. "But I'll always be there to save you. I love you." He captured her lips in a gentle kiss that he never wanted to end but there was just one more question he had to ask. He pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. "What are you going to do about Rhys?"

"Tomorrow morning, you're going to drive me home and I'm going to end things with him. Then after work, you're going to take me to the nearest pub so I can drown my guilt in alcohol." She told him.

"It might go better than you think." He said.

"Yeah and pigs will fly out of the sky." She laughed. Her mouth dropped open as Owen gave her a look. "You're going to tell me that they have aren't you?"

"Once." He nodded. "And it was only the one pig. It wasn't exactly from space either. This other alien race had...well, it's a bit complicated."

"I don't even know why I'm so surprised any more." Gwen laughed. "Anything's possible with your job. Owen...tell me more about it."

"What more do you want to know?" He asked. "I've told you pretty much all there is to know."

"I want to hear more stories about all the aliens out there. I want to hear all the stories of how my extremely brave and handsome boyfriend saved the world." She smiled.

"Which one of us are you talking about there?" He smirked. Gwen's smile turned into a glare and quickly wiped the smirk off his face. "Sorry. Do you really want to hear about all this stuff?"

"Of course I do." She nodded. "This stuff's fascinating."

He looked at her thoughtfully as she turned and pulled him over to the sofa. She pulled her legs up so she could face him.

"Gwen, how would you feel about experiencing this stuff first hand? I don't mean just popping into the Hub from time to time like you already do." He said.

"What do you mean? Like, come out on a case with you?" She asked.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Well...I'd have to book the day off work but I'd love to." She smiled.

"The thing is, I don't just mean the one case. How about you come with us every day?" He suggested.

"But...that means I'd have to take every day off work and I don't think they let you do that." Gwen laughed.

"Are you sure you're not blonde?" Owen sighed. "Look, it doesn't matter. I have to talk to Jack about it anyway. Gwen, are you really going to end it with Rhys tomorrow?"

"I am." She answered. "I want to be with you properly and I can't lie to Rhys any more. Tomorrow when you pick me up from work, I'm all yours."

"I consider you mine already." He smirked.

Gwen squealed as he pounced on her. His lips attacked her neck as she giggled and squirmed beneath him.

Owen drove her to her flat the next morning and turned to her as she took a deep breath.

"Rhys' car is there. He's still here, he hasn't gone to work yet." She whispered.

"Do you want me to drop you off at the end of the road like normal?" He asked.

"No. Drop me off outside." She answered.

"If you're sure." He shrugged.

He pulled up outside her flat and watched as she unbuckled herself and clutched her bag tightly in her hands.

"Well...here goes." She sighed.

"Good luck." He said.

Gwen grabbed him and pulled his lips onto hers.

"If I don't make it out of this alive, I want you to know that I love you and ten years ago, you made fourteen year old Gwen Cooper very happy and you're making Gwen Cooper extremely happy now." She told him.

"I made you happy even though we never saw each other again for ten years after that one night?" He laughed.

"Yes. You made me feel...special." She said and leant to whisper in his ear. "And I didn't mean that kind of happy." She kissed along his jaw and down his neck. One hand played with the hair at the back of his neck as the other trailed a finger down his chest. She reached the waistband of his jeans and continued down over his zip. Owen's eyes were wide as she pressed her palm against him and dragged his earlobe through her teeth. When she pulled away, Owen gripped the edge of the seat as Gwen smiled seductively at him. "See you later."

He was speechless as she climbed out of the car. His jaw was still hanging open as she turned and winked at him.

"I love you." He called as she shut the door.

Gwen watched him leave before dropping her calm act and looking nervously up at her flat.

Owen entered the Hub, replaying the events that had happened in the car in his mind. He was staring into space as he made his way to his workstation and he completely ignored Ianto who had appeared with a cup of coffee for him.

"Owen? Everything...ok?" Ianto asked.

"God she's sexy." Owen whispered.

"Erm...Owen." Ianto said awkwardly.

Owen turned to Ianto but he wasn't actually seeing him.

"She is...unbelievable." He breathed. "I really can't wait to -"

"Owen!" Ianto interrupted loudly.

Owen seemed to snap out of it and both men looked at each other before clearing their throats and quickly looking away. Ianto placed Owen's coffee on his desk as Owen pretended to look for something.

"Cheers Ianto." He mumbled.

"No problem." Ianto replied. "How is Gwen today?"

"She's...ok, I think. I hope she's ok. She's dumping her boyfriend today." Owen answered.

"Gwen had a boyfriend?" Ianto said loudly.

Tosh and Jack seemed to appear from nowhere and they both stared at him in shock. Owen glared at Ianto who shot him an apologetic look.

"Don't start getting all judgemental." Owen said to them all. "I didn't know ok? I only found out last night – and don't judge Gwen either. Her reason for not telling me was actually quite sweet and she's decided to break it off with Rhys because...well, she loves me." The others just looked at him with their eyebrows raised. He rolled his eyes and turned to Jack. "Jack, there's something I want to ask you."

"Sure." The Captain nodded.

Owen stood up to face him.

"How would you feel about Gwen coming to work here?" He asked. He could see Jack was about to protest and quickly jumped in with his arguments. "There's a position going spare. She's a policewoman so she's got great investigative skills. You've seen how persistent she is. She's got a great heart – which I think this team is missing. She's bloody stubborn when she wants to be. I mean, you guys haven't seen her outside of here, it is impossible to change that woman's mind, let me tell you. A few nights ago, we were in bed and I tried to get her to -"

"Owen, stick to the point." Jack interrupted.

"Yeah, sorry." He mumbled. "Where was I? Oh, yeah, she's stubborn. She's fascinated by all this stuff and she didn't freak out too much when she first found out about all this – which is always a bonus. Jack, I really think she'd make a great member of this team. So...what do you say?"

Jack glanced at the others, his arms folded as Owen waited nervously. When Jack fixed him with a stare, he guessed his efforts had been wasted. Jack took a step forward and leant in to say something in his ear.

"Just out of curiosity, what was it you tried to get her to do?" He asked.

"Jack, I don't think that's appropriate." Ianto said quickly as Owen was about to explain.

"No, no you're right." Jack nodded and stepped back.

"So?" Owen asked.

"What does Gwen think about this?" He enquired.

"She doesn't know. I haven't told her I was going to ask." Owen answered.

"Ok." Jack nodded. "From what I've seen of Gwen...I agree. I think she'd make a great Torchwood operative. Bring her down some time and I'll offer her the job."

"Thanks Jack." Owen grinned.

Jack smiled as the others went back to work. He stepped up to Owen and made sure Ianto was out of earshot.

"Go ahead, tell me what it was." He said.

Owen pulled away and patted him on the shoulder.

"Actually, I think Ianto's right. It's inappropriate." He said and walked away.

Owen couldn't wait to see Gwen later that evening when she finished work. He'd decided to bring her to the Hub straight after he picked her up. He couldn't wait to see her face when Jack offered her a job at Torchwood.

His excitement however, vanished as he went to pick her up from work. He leant on his car as he waited for her to come out of the police station. As she left and walked towards him, he was grinning.

"Damn, you're not in your police gear." He laughed.

"No, I'm off duty. I changed." She mumbled. She kept her head bent and hidden behind her hair so he couldn't see her face. He suddenly became concerned and he placed a finger under her chin to tilt her face up to his. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she'd been crying all day and he could see fresh tears building up. "You should have seen his face." She whispered.

"Babe, I'm so sorry." He said as he pulled her into a hug. She clung to him and buried her face in his chest as she cried. Once she'd calmed down, he opened the car door for her and closed it once she'd climbed inside. He climbed in and started the car. "I was going to take you to the Hub but...do you just want to go back to mine instead?"

"Please." She nodded quietly.

When he let them into his flat, she shuffled over to the sofa as he went to make drinks.

"What happened?" He asked, passing her a mug of steaming coffee and sat beside her.

"I went in and I said we needed to talk but he was already pissed off. He started ranting and shouting before I had a chance to get a word in. He was just going on and on and...in the end I just blurted out that I'd been seeing you. He went all quiet so I took the opportunity to explain how I'd met you ten years ago and...everything that happened that night. Then I told him we'd run into each other recently and just...fell in love all over again." She explained. "I told him I couldn't lie to him any more and I couldn't lie to myself. That's when he started begging me to...not leave him and..." She was finding it hard to speak as she started crying again. "He said that you and me were just a phase. That we...only thought we were in love because we hadn't seen each other for so long. But...I said that wasn't true...that what you and I have is...different...special...and I told him it's over between me and him..."

Owen took her coffee off her and placed both his and hers on the table before pulling her into a hug against his chest. She curled up into his side and closed her eyes as she breathed in his scent. It calmed and comforted her along with his strong arms wrapped around her and his body heat washing over her.

Soon she was exhausted. Too tired to cry, too tired to feel guilty. She was emotionally drained and she just wanted to sleep. She leant against Owen as she drank her coffee, too tired to hold herself up, and fought to keep her eyes open so she didn't spill it.

Owen watched her, running his hand through her hair as her eyes started to close. He couldn't help but feel like her being upset was his fault. Like he'd forced her into doing it. He didn't want to force her to do anything, that's not how he wanted this relationship to be. He wanted her to be with him because she loved him, not because he forced her to.

Gwen's cup tipped and he grabbed it quickly, realising she'd fallen asleep. Luckily, there was nothing left in it. He put it on the table and gently moved himself from beneath her. She mumbled as she lay down on the sofa but her eyes stayed closed. Lifting her into his arms, he carried her into his room and lay her gently down on the bed. He placed a light kiss on her lips before disappearing into the bathroom to take a shower.

After his shower, he returned to his room with a towel wrapped around his waist and sat down on the edge of the bed. He smiled as he noticed Gwen had kicked off her shoes and curled up into a ball on her side. Her eyes were still puffy but she looked more peaceful in her sleep.

Looking at her now took him back to when he'd watched her after she'd fallen asleep ten years ago. She'd looked tough and as though she could look after herself. She seemed like someone way over her age with her make-up and the tiny pieces of material she'd called clothes.

Yet in her sleep, with her make-up all worn off and her efforts to act older over, she looked so different. She'd still looked beautiful – even more so now she wasn't hiding behind her make-up. Despite what she'd said about her losing her innocence, she looked like a young, innocent girl to him.

He remembered the strange hold she'd had on him even way back then. He'd known she was leaving to go home the next morning but he hadn't wanted her to. He knew, even then, that he was going to miss her.

He couldn't describe the feeling he'd felt when she'd walked into the Hub that day, pretending to be a pizza delivery girl. All he knew was that his heart had almost leapt out of his chest the moment their eyes met.

She rolled onto her back and placed her arm out to the side. He leant across and gently placed his hand in hers. Her fingers closed around his and she turned her head to face him. Owen wondered how he was going to grab a pair of pants as he knew he couldn't pull his hand out of hers without waking her.

She rolled so she was on her side facing him and used her other hand to feel around for him. She frowned as she felt nothing but the bed and opened her eyes slightly. He was pulled down next to her and he laughed as she snuggled into his side.

"Erm...Gwen..." He whispered. "I'm in my towel. Can I just get some pants?"

"No." She mumbled.

"Ok..." He said. "Can I at least take my towel off? It's wet."

Gwen huffed as she hoisted herself up. He was surprised at the strength she managed to gather to pull the towel from out underneath him and throw it across the room. She lay back down beside him and pulled his arms around her.

"Now sleep." She snapped. Owen couldn't help but chuckle and he tightened his arms around her. She reached up and put her hand over his mouth. "No laughing...time to sleep."

He kissed her hand and shuffled to get more comfortable.

It felt like Owen had just closed his eyes when his alarm went off. He groaned and reached for it blindly. Once he'd turned it off, he rolled over and found Gwen looking up at him sleepily.

"Morning." He whispered. "You ok?"

"Yeah." She sighed.

"What time have you got work?" He asked.

"I haven't. Yvonne managed to get me a few days off. She said I should take the time off to...clear my head." Gwen answered.

"Gwen...I need to know. You didn't split up with Rhys because you felt like you had to, did you?" He asked. "I mean, I didn't force you into it. If you still love him...I'll back off. I just want you to be happy."

"Owen, you are sweet." She smiled. "But also incredibly stupid. How many times do I have to tell you that I love __you__ and that I want to be with __you__? I have never been happier than I am now."

"Honestly?" He said.

"Yes." She nodded. "I'm especially happy after waking up to naked Owen."

"Hey, that's not fair." He pouted. "You're still dressed."

Gwen slipped off the bed and slowly pulled off her clothes, keeping her eyes locked with his. She giggled as she climbed back into bed and lay beside him. She held his face in her hands and kissed him.

"I love you." She smiled.

"I love you too." Owen replied.

Owen gazed into her eyes, hoping she could see the love and adoration he saw in hers. His heart started to pound as she pulled him on top of her and wrapped her legs around his waist. He'd slept with Gwen a few times before...so why did he suddenly feel so nervous?

It seemed he wasn't the only one though, as he watched her gaze flicker to his lips and swallow. He could feel her trembling slightly beneath him and her breathing had started to shake.

He slowly lowered his lips onto hers and heard her sigh into the kiss. Her arms slipped around his neck as he lifted her slightly off the bed.

A while later, Owen lay Gwen back down and rested his forehead on hers. She gently ran her hand over his back as she smiled in contentment. Owen kissed her eyelids and the tip of her nose before capturing her lips in a sweet kiss.

"Wow." Owen breathed.

"Yeah." She smiled.

"That was...different." He said. "It was...amazing."

"It was." She nodded.

"Can we...do that again?" He asked.

"What? Now?" She giggled. "Of course we can. We're a couple now, a proper couple. We can do that any time we like."

He smiled and kissed her.

"Look, erm...if you're not going into work today...how about you come to the Hub with me?" He asked.

"I'd love to but I don't want to get in the way." She told him.

"You won't be in the way, I promise. Please, come." He begged.

"Ok, I'll come." She smiled.

"Great. We'd best take a shower then." He said, rolling off her.

They entered the Hub, hands clasped and love-struck smiles on their faces. He led her over to the workstations and took her jacket from her to hang it up. Gwen giggled at his gentleman like gestures as he held his arm for her to take and led her over to his desk.

Jack walked out of his office as Owen pulled out a chair.

"Miss Cooper, what a nice surprise." Jack smiled. "It's good to see you. How are you this fine morning?"

"I'm very well thanks." Gwen replied. "How are you?"

"I'm good." He answered. He glanced at Owen who gestured to Gwen and looked back expectantly. "So Gwen, I have an offer for you. How would you like to work with us here at Torchwood?"

"Do you mean that?" She gasped as she looked between Jack and Owen with wide eyes. "Me? Work here...with aliens...and you and...aliens?"

"Yeah." Jack nodded.

"I don't know what to say." She said. "I'd – are you sure you want me to though? I mean...how do you know I'm good enough?"

"Gwen, you'll be amazing." Owen told her.

"I...I'd love to." She grinned. "Thank you." She ran over to Jack and hugged him. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Thank your boyfriend. He suggested you for the job." Jack told her.

Gwen turned to smile at Owen.

"You did this? For me?" She asked. Owen nodded as she walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck. "This is what you were talking about the other night."

"Took you long enough to work out." He laughed.

"You are amazing. Thank you. I love you." She told him. She kissed him and suddenly broke away. "Hang on, what do I do about my job? Do I just quit or do I tell them where I'm going?"

"Don't worry about it, we'll sort it." Jack shrugged. "Owen, you requested the job for her, you train her. She's your responsibility. I want you both in early tomorrow to start but for now...just sit back and...I don't know what you'd do in this sort of situation, celebrate? Anyway, tomorrow morning, training starts. Owen, you'd better train her well or you're both in trouble."

"Don't worry Jack, I think she'll be amazing." Owen reassured him.

Gwen giggled as Jack smiled at them both. He turned to head into his office before turning back, an inquisitive expression on his face.

"Gwen, what do you think about role play?" He asked.

"Excuse me?" Gwen spluttered.

Owen's eyes widened and he shook his head quickly at Jack. Gwen looked at Owen in confusion and he smiled quickly.

"Ignore Jack, he...has issues." Owen told her. "We're doing what we can to help him."

"I do not have issues." Jack argued. "I'm just curious to know what it was you were talking about when you said Gwen wouldn't -"

He stopped quickly as Owen silenced him with a glare. Gwen pulled back from Owen and folded her arms, looking up at him suspiciously.

"When Gwen wouldn't what?" She asked.

"Thanks Jack." Owen sighed.

Jack shot him a mischievous smile and shrugged.

"Hey, I'm just trying to welcome her into the team. Every team member is subject to a little teasing here and there." Jack told him and turned to Gwen. "Sorry if I've offended you, it wasn't meant to be personal."

Gwen softened and she smiled at the Captain.

"Don't worry about it." She said. Jack smiled and turned to go back into his office. "Oh Jack, I do enjoy role play. Not that Owen will get to find out any time soon." She turned to glare at Owen. Jack chuckled as he went back into his office and closed the door behind him. "What have you been saying about me? What was it that I wouldn't do?"

"Look, I was just explaining all your best qualities to Jack so he'd consider giving you the job. I told them you were stubborn – because then he'd know that you wouldn't give up easily on anything. Then I just sort of...went off in my own little world and almost – __almost__ told them about that time we were...in bed and you...didn't want to..." He explained.

"You're disgusting." She spat. "Did you just get me this job so you could show off to all your friends and brag about our sex life?"

She huffed and went to walk out but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his chest.

"No, it's not like that. It was a stupid comment that just...slipped out." He told her. "I'm sorry. I didn't get you this job because I wanted to brag about anything. I got you this job because I know you'll be amazing at it and I know how much helping people means to you. You'll be saving so many lives in this job and I know it'll make you happy."

"You did this to make me happy?" She smiled. Owen nodded and she pulled his face down to hers to kiss him. "I guess I can let it slip just this once and I really wouldn't want to spoil the mood after such an amazing morning."

He chuckled as he pulled her in for another kiss.

"I still can't get over how...wonderful and...I can't describe it." He whispered as he tucked a hair behind her ear. "When I held you in my arms, I'd never felt so..." He reached for her hand and placed it over his heart with his on top. His eyes closed as he felt her fingers gently brush his chest through his shirt. Keeping his eyes closed, he whispered three words he'd never meant as sincerely as he did with her. "I love you."

"Owen, I love you too." She breathed before pressing her lips to his.

Owen's arms slid around her waist and crushed her to his chest as her arms went around his neck.

A cough interrupted them and they pulled away quickly but Owen kept a tight grip around her waist.

"Hate to break up this moment." Ianto said. "But I'd like to welcome Miss Cooper to the team."

He held out his hand and she smiled shyly as she shook it.

"Thanks Ianto." She replied.

"As a welcome present, I'd like to present you with your first cup of coffee as an official member of the team." He smiled, handing her one of the cups he had in his hands.

Gwen pulled away from Owen to take it from him and took a sip.

"Ianto, this is fantastic. You got a girlfriend?" She asked, shooting him a wink.

Ianto felt his face flush and he looked away shyly.

"Oi!" Owen interrupted, wrapping his arm back around Gwen's waist. "Have you put something in her drink to make her flirt with you?"

"Oh come on Owen." Gwen sighed. "I'm just having a joke. You know you're my man."

"You bet I am." He smirked.

Gwen giggled as Owen leant in to nibble her ear, both forgetting Ianto stood beside them. He cleared his throat and Owen sighed as he pulled away.

"Coffee." Ianto said and handed Owen his coffee. "It's decaf I'm afraid. We don't have any regular left. Gwen got the last of the good stuff."

"What? But I'm your team mate. How come Gwen gets the good stuff?" Owen complained.

"Because she's our new member and deserves a good welcome." Ianto answered simply and walked away.

Owen pouted and turned to Gwen who was smiling behind her cup.

"It's a good job I love you." He sighed.

She giggled as they both took a sip of their drinks and Owen cringed at his decaf coffee.

Tosh entered the Hub a few moments later as Gwen and Owen were sat at his workstation. He was showing her some of the more basic things they used the computers for and he'd go into the more complicated stuff when he started training her tomorrow.

"Morning." Tosh said as she sat at her own workstation.

"Hey Tosh." Owen replied. "I'd like you to meet our new member."

Tosh looked up as Gwen rolled her eyes and smiled at Owen.

"You said yes?" Tosh asked excitedly. Gwen nodded and Tosh clapped her hands in excitement. "Great. Oh, it is going to be so much more fun around here now there's someone to kick Owen's butt into gear and to keep him in line."

"I'm starting to regret ever saying anything to Jack." He mumbled. "Bad coffee, forced to actually do some work. It's like being back at school."

"And Jack would be the teacher everyone has a crush on." Gwen said quietly as she eyed the door to Jack's office.

"Oh definitely." Tosh nodded.

Owen looked between the two women as they both stared towards Jack's office. He cleared his throat, breaking them out of their thoughts. Gwen blushed as she looked up at him and smiled sheepishly.

"Love you." She said.


	4. Chapter 4

Owen could tell that Gwen was exhausted after her first week of training. He'd taught her how to use all the weaponry, all the safety procedures, how to use all the technology they had and how to catch a Weevil.

That had been an interesting lesson. He'd shown her how to tackle a Weevil if it was being particularly vicious so she could stun it and put the hand clamps on. He'd told her to pretend that he was the Weevil and copy what he'd shown her. However, when she'd wrestled him to the ground and put the hand clamps on him, the lesson had taken a bit of a detour.

He could see her fighting back yawns but when he suggested taking a break, she protested and told him she was fine. However, by the end of the week, he cut their training session short and took her home earlier.

When they pulled up outside, she looked up at her flat then turned to smile at him.

"Stay." She said.

"You want me to come in for a few hours?" He asked.

It would be his first time in her flat since they'd been together.

"No, stay the night." She replied.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"If you're still uncomfortable with me staying over because of...you know...Rhys and everything, I'll just stay for a couple of hours. I won't be offended if you don't want me to." He told her.

"Owen, I want you to stay." She laughed. "Come on, I'll make us a romantic meal and then I need a nice, relaxing bath. Everything is just...aching and I am covered in bloody bruises."

"Well, you'd better get used to that." Owen sighed as they climbed out of the car. "You'll be covered in cuts, grazes, bruises, alien guts and a whole lot worse with this job."

"Oh I can't wait." Gwen said sarcastically.

"You're excited, you know you are." He grinned.

She looked at him and chuckled.

"Yeah, I am." She nodded.

Owen breathed in Gwen's scent as soon as he entered the flat. It was so much stronger here and he loved it. The whole flat screamed 'Gwen' and he knew it would be hard to leave.

"Nice place." He commented. "It's got a much more homely feel to it than mine."

"That's because you have hardly any furniture in your flat." Gwen said.

"I never needed it did I? I was on my own." He shrugged. "Anyway, it's not just the furniture that's missing. There's something else, there always has been. I just...don't know what it is."

Gwen made them lasagne and cracked open a bottle of red wine. She lit a few candles and turned out the lights to give the room a more romantic feel. Once they'd eaten their meal, they sat cuddled up on the sofa cradling their glasses.

"I should get my bath before I fall asleep." Gwen said as she pulled herself away from Owen. "Do you want to join me?"

"Is that a trick question?" He asked.

She laughed as she took his hand and led him into the bathroom.

"This is my little heaven. I love to just sit back and relax and just forget about everything outside of that bathroom door. So you'd better behave in here or I won't invite you back." She warned.

"I'll be on my best behaviour." He promised.

She ran them a hot bath and they slipped in with Owen sat behind her. She was playing with his hand in her lap as he gently kissed her shoulders and neck.

"Owen, I've been thinking a lot lately...about Lucy." She said.

He stopped kissing her and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Why?" He asked.

"Well...she's your cousin and you haven't spoken to her for ages and...neither have I. It was all my fault she stopped talking to any of us in the first place. You two used to be so close. She'd always tell me little stories of the things you used to do together and I ruined that." She explained. She could tell Owen was about to protest. "Let me finish. I've just been thinking...if she wanted to get in touch with you now, how would she react if she finds out we're together? Would she never speak to you again? And I just...I don't want to be the reason for you to lose the one family member you both care about so much."

"No. No, you are not doing this to me again Gwen Cooper. You are not leaving me because of what Lucy thinks." He told her.

"But, I don't want to get in the way of you two ever sorting things out." She protested. "I know how much she means -"

"Yeah, Lucy means a lot to me. But so do you. I love you so much and I couldn't bear it if you left me again. If, by some miracle, Lucy does decide to contact one of us, then she's just going to have to accept us as a couple. Once she sees how happy and in love we are, I think she will." Owen said. "And part of me thinks she over reacted because she was scared. Scared I'd take her best friend away from her or that you'd take me away."

"I'd never do that." Gwen told him.

"I wouldn't either, we both know that but Lucy doesn't." He replied. "Look, can we just forget about Lucy tonight? We've had an amazing evening so far and I don't want to spoil it."

"Ok." Gwen nodded quietly.

"Good. I love you." He told her and resumed kissing her neck and shoulders.

"Love you too." She smiled. A few moments later, Gwen reached for the soap and started to wash. Owen took the soap from her and started to wash her back. Once he'd done that, he started to gently massage her back and shoulders. He revelled in the purr like sounds mixed with soft gasps and moans she made. "Owen...that feels amazing."

He could feel her relaxing beneath his fingertips and she leant into his touch.

"Is it good?" He asked as she let out a moan louder than her previous ones.

All she could manage was another moan and nodded her head. She suddenly turned around to face him and there was a flash of something in her eyes. He didn't have time to work it out as she climbed out of the bath.

"Your turn." She said.

"You don't have to." He told her as he watched the water drip down her body.

"Your turn." She repeated.

She put her hands on his back and pushed slightly to get him to shuffle forward. Owen did as she wanted and she climbed back in to sit behind him. He smirked as her legs appeared either side of him and he ran his hands over them.

She passed him the soap and waited for him to wash himself before taking it and doing his back like he'd done with her.

Owen gasped as Gwen's chest pressed against his back and she started to massage his shoulders. Her warm breath blew across his neck raising goosebumps there. His eyes slid shut as she dragged his earlobe through her teeth before pressing her lips to his neck. He whimpered as she pulled away and he missed the contact between them. Her hands moved to his back and began to work their magic there.

"Have I ever told you how much I love those hands of yours?" He whispered.

He heard her chuckle and felt her lips against his shoulder blade. Owen's grip on her legs tightened as her hands moved to his hips then slowly made their way to his stomach. He grabbed her wrists as she started to move them down.

"Well, well, well." She breathed, pressing her chest back against his back. "I knew you were enjoying it but I didn't think you were that much."

"I thought you said we had to behave." He hissed as she nibbled at his neck.

"I said __you__ had to behave." She corrected. "I never said anything about me."

"I'm not liking these rules." He said.

"Oh, I think a part of you disagrees with that." She smirked.

"You know what, rules are made to be broken." He growled and quickly turned around. He smirked at her shocked expression and pressed her up against the back of the bath. As he trailed a finger up the inside of her thigh, he caught her lips in a kiss. She fisted her hands in his hair and kissed him back hungrily. He pulled away and grinned as she looked at him in confusion. "But I think we should stick to this rule, just this once."

"Wh-what?" She gasped. "But – we – I...you can be a right pain sometimes."

"Well...if you want this so much, let's take it somewhere else." He smirked.

"No, __you__ can wait now." She replied and passed him the shampoo bottle. "Wash my hair for me and don't use too much shampoo."

"You won't be able to stay mad at me if I do this." He told her.

"You want to bet?" She asked and turned around.

Owen smiled smugly as minutes later she was putty in his hands once again. His fingers gently massaged her scalp and he trailed kisses up her neck, along her jaw line to her cheek. She turned her head slightly so he could capture her lips.

"I told you." He whispered against her lips.

"Shut up." She mumbled and crushed her lips back onto his.

"Here, rinse this off quick and let's get out of here." He said.

Owen quickly jumped out of the bath and watched in amusement as she dunked her head under the water.

"What?" She asked as she surfaced.

"Nothing." He answered. "You erm...done?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Grab us a towel." As Gwen climbed out of the bath, Owen wrapped a warm towel around her and kissed her as he tied it. She did the same for him, making sure to brush her finger just above where the towel wrested on his hips. Taking his hand, she led him out of the bathroom to her bedroom door. "There is just one room you haven't seen. The all important room."

"Gwen Cooper's bedroom." Owen grinned. "How many times have I imagined walking into this room? Any rules before we go in?"

"Nope. But we could always use the same rule that we've established with your bed." She said.

"What, no clothes allowed apart from if it's extremely cold and no amount of love making can warm you up?" He said, wriggling his eyebrows.

"That one exactly." She smiled.

She stepped backwards through the door, pulling him with her, and giggled as he followed closely, his arms around her waist and their stomachs pressed together.

Once again, he was hit by Gwen's scent and he closed his eyes to take a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, he looked at the pillows on her bed where he was sure he'd be able to smell her when he buried his face in them. Some nights when she didn't stay over, he'd bury his face in the pillow she'd slept on and breath in her scent. It was faint and mixed with his but he could still smell her and he could almost imagine her there with him.

That's what he'd done ten years ago after that one night. After telling Lucy he wanted to be alone and he'd gone back upstairs, he'd lain where she had and just lost himself in her scent. The sheets had still been slightly warm as well.

He'd never tell Gwen he did that of course, he was way too macho to be doing that sort of thing. Well, that's what he wanted people to think.

He was woken out of his thoughts when he realised Gwen's body was no longer pressed against his. When he looked around for her, he saw her standing in the doorway with another towel in her hand and drying her hair. She was watching him with a smile.

Owen crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her, crushing his lips onto hers. He heard her gasp and the towel she'd been holding for her hair, fell to the floor as she held his face in her hands. Her lips parted as he ran his tongue across her lips and he tangled it with hers. He ran one hand up her spine causing her to shiver before he ran it through her hair. Her arms moved to lock around his neck and she moulded her body into him. She was dazed when he pulled away.

He looked at the bed then at her for consent. He wanted her to know that she still had time to back out if she was uncomfortable with him being there. Owen saw that Gwen understood that as she tilted her head in a slight nod and placed a hand on his chest to push him gently backwards towards the bed. When the back of his legs hit the bed, he sat down and pulled her to sit in his lap, their eyes locked together. She slid the hand on his chest around to the back of his head and pulled his lips to hers. Owen's hand ran from her knee up to where the towel rested on her thigh. He shuffled them into the middle of the bed where he pulled back and looked into her eyes as his hand reached for where the towel was tied. Gently tugging it off her, he lay her down on the bed and covered her body with his. Her legs went around his waist as she reached down and pulled his towel off.

Owen woke up the next morning to find the bed empty beside him. He immediately went into panic mode as he sat up and listened for her. He hoped she didn't regret last night and think it was too soon to bring him into her bed.

He breathed a sigh of relief as she entered the room, wearing his shirt he noticed, with a smile on her face as she carried in two cups of tea.

"Hey." She smiled.

"Hey." He replied, his voice thick with sleep.

She sat beside him and went to pass him a cup but pulled it back as he reached for it.

"Kiss first." She said.

He chuckled and caught her lips in a gentle kiss.

"What's got you in such a good mood this morning?" He asked as he took his drink from her.

"Oh, I don't know." She sighed. "You. The start of my second week at Torchwood. You again."

"You are very sweet." He told her then looked at her suspiciously. "What do you want?"

"Only you." She answered innocently.

Owen laughed as she looked at him, making her eyes big and innocent. She smiled and giggled as he wriggled his eyebrows. He carefully pulled her closer, making sure neither of them spilled their drinks, and put his free arm around her.

"Well, Gwen Cooper, you put me in a good mood every day." He said.

"Aaw and what are you after?" She laughed.

"Just the love of my gorgeous girlfriend Gwen." He told her.

"You'll always have that." She told him and pressed her lips against his.

They sat in comfortable silence as they drank their tea.

When they were finished, Owen took her cup from her and placed it on the side with his. His eyes ran up her legs to where the shirt brushed against her thigh.

"You wearing anything under that?" He asked.

Gwen raised an eyebrow and smiled before shaking her head. Owen emitted a primal growl and pounced on her causing her to squeal. As his lips attacked her neck, her phone began to ring. She reached for it on the side and checked the name.

"It's Jack." She told Owen.

"Ignore it." He breathed against her skin.

"I can't ignore my boss on my second week of work." She laughed and pressed the phone to her ear. Owen rolled his eyes and continued to gently nip the skin at her neck. "Hey Jack, what's up?"

She put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from giggling as Owen tickled her sides.

"Gwen Cooper, I think Owen's trained you pretty well this past week. I'm sending you out on your first mission." Jack replied.

"Really? Are you sure I can do this?" She asked nervously. "Shouldn't I go through some more training? Maybe I should start off with admin."

"You'll be fine." Jack reassured her. "It's just a simple pick up job. You can take Owen with you if you feel more comfortable. Is he there with you?" Gwen couldn't suppress the loud moan that escaped her lips as Owen's hands slipped under the shirt and his fingers began running over her chest. "I'd take that as a yes. That or you really like the sound of my voice."

"Listen, Jack...this isn't a good time." She breathed. "Can't you tell me when we get to the Hub?"

"No, I need you to head on over to the police station right now and pick up a girl and bring her back to the Hub for questioning." Jack told her. "Ianto's on his way to dropping the SUV at yours. Since you're an ex-police officer, I guessed they'd listen to you more."

"Alright, we'll...try and be as quick as we can." She sighed. "What's the girl's name?"

"Lucy Jones." Jack answered.

Gwen's attention was caught and she shoved Owen away from her. She sat up quickly and slapped his hands away as he tried to reach for her again.

"Jack, we're on our way." She replied and hung up the phone.

"What is it?" Owen sighed as she jumped out of bed.

She ripped off his shirt and threw it to him before grabbing some clean clothes.

"Get dressed. We have to leave now." She ordered.

"But what is it?" He asked.

Gwen paused in her hunt to find the matching sock to the one in her hand and stared at him.

"It's Lucy." She answered.

Owen took a few seconds to process what she'd said before both began dressing at top speed.

"What about Lucy?" Owen demanded as they left Gwen's flat and ran over to the SUV that Ianto had delivered. He felt around behind the front driver's side wheel, moving his hand slightly to the left where the key could always be found when in these kinds of situations. "Where is she? What's happened to her?"

"I don't know. Jack just said we had to pick her up from the police station and take her back to the Hub for questioning." Gwen told him.

"But why? What's she done? You know her, Gwen. You know she's no alien and she'd never do anything wrong." Owen said.

"I know that." Gwen sighed in exasperation. They climbed into the vehicle and sped off. "We don't even know if she's done anything wrong. She could just be a witness."

"I'm not liking the sound of this." Owen muttered.

They arrived at the station and ran inside. Gwen spoke to one of the officers who took them to the interrogation room. The officer in charge of the case was her old partner Andy.

"Gwen!" He said in surprise. "Torchwood now is it? We've all been wondering. What's it like?"

"Andy, I haven't got time. We need to take Lucy with us." She replied, her hand on the handle of the door.

"What? You can't just take her." Andy protested.

"We're Torchwood mate." Owen told him. "I think you'll find that means we can."

Gwen and Owen entered the room and their eyes fell on the nervous wreck that was Lucy. Her clothes were rumpled and torn and her hair tousled. Mascara ran down her face as she sobbed and she shook uncontrollably. Her clothes were splattered with huge blood stains and her skin was streaked with it. Her eyes fell on Owen first.

"Owen?" She whispered.

"Oh my God, Lucy. What happened?" He asked.

Her eyes swivelled to Gwen and she gritted her teeth.

"And Gwen Cooper. Didn't expect to see you again, especially not with him." She spat.

"Lucy, we need to put aside what happened in the past and we need you to come with us." Gwen said gently.

"I wouldn't go – you know what, I don't care. I watched my friend...she's dead..." Lucy sobbed. "I can't even be bothered to make the effort to be mad."

Gwen turned to Andy as Owen went over to his cousin's side.

"Andy, what happened?" She asked quietly.

"A couple found her walking on the streets early hours this morning. She was sobbing and shaking just like she is now, covered in blood." Andy explained.

She turned to look sadly at Lucy and Owen. He put his arms around her and she hit at him at first before sinking into his chest.

"But what happened?" She asked.

"She said her friend was attacked in her home by some creature. Police went to investigate and well...it wasn't a pretty sight. Her body had been ripped open and...it was..." He answered. Gwen could tell he was remembering what the crime scene must have looked like and was trying not to throw up. "We can't make much sense out of her but she keeps saying it was an alien. Must be traumatised, the poor thing. Shouting about aliens."

"It __was__ an alien." Lucy shouted as she overheard Andy.

"It's ok Lucy." Owen reassured her. "We need you to come with us."

"You don't believe me, do you?" Lucy screamed as he pulled her out of her chair. "You're taking me to see some psychiatrist. I'm telling the truth."

"Andy, we'll take her now." Gwen told him.

Owen led Lucy out as she screamed in protest.

"Lucy, it's alright. We believe you." He whispered to her. "We just want to take you somewhere where people understand and we can find out what happened."

"You're lying." She shouted.

Owen fought with his own tears as he pulled her out of the room. He'd always thought about his reunion with Lucy but never had he imagined it to be in these circumstances. Torchwood was one thing he wanted to protect Lucy from. Now it seemed both worlds, loved ones and Torchwood, were colliding. And it never ended well.

Gwen and Andy followed them down the corridors.

"Hey, I erm...heard you split with Rhys." Andy said to her.

"Yeah." Gwen nodded. "Yeah I did."

They reached the SUV and Owen helped Lucy into the back.

"I was wondering...would you want to...go for drinks? Sort of...like a date?" He asked.

"Oh, Andy...I'm seeing someone." She answered awkwardly.

"Who?" He frowned.

Owen shut the door on Lucy and turned to face Andy. He was not in the mood.

"Me." Owen growled and walked around to the other side to climb in the back beside Lucy.

Andy looked between Owen and Gwen in shock. She gave him an awkward smile and got into the SUV.

As Gwen drove them back to the Hub, Owen held Lucy tightly as she shook. He hadn't seen her in years. Why did it have to be in these circumstances? Torchwood was screwing up everything that mattered to him.

He was angry at himself for not trying to get in touch with her a long time ago. He was angry at the fact that aliens existed and they couldn't just keep away. He was angry at Torchwood for obviously not doing their job properly and protecting people from aliens.

Gwen watched in the mirror in concern. She'd catch Owen's eye and they'd quickly look away again, neither knowing what to say.

Owen led Lucy into the Hub and up to the boardroom. He didn't care what Jack said, there was no way he was taking her down to the interrogation room. The Hub looked scary enough without taking her into a cold, damp, concrete room and scaring her more than she already was. Luckily though, she didn't seem to be taking notice of her surroundings.

Jack followed them up but Gwen held out a hand and stopped him.

"Jack, let us deal with her." She said. He was about to protest but Gwen put a hand on his chest and pushed him back slightly. "She needs someone to talk to her gently and calmly. I've seen you questioning witnesses, Jack. You get impatient and you'll make the situation worse. Please, let me and Owen talk to her."

Jack sighed and nodded before walking away.

Owen sat Lucy in a chair and took a seat beside her.

"Lucy, I want you to know that whatever you say here, we'll believe you." He told her. "We've dealt with things like this before. We know it can be devastating the things that happen -"

"Stop talking like that." Lucy shouted. "Stop talking like Jessica's death was just something that happens every day. She was my friend...and I watched that thing...I couldn't...it tore her apart."

"Tell us what happened." Gwen urged gently.

Lucy shot her a glare before looking away.

"I only arrived in Cardiff last week." She whispered and glanced at Owen. "I spoke to your mum to see if she knew where you were. She told me that the last she heard was that you'd moved up here with a new job. I wanted to see you again. I wanted to..." She shook her head as she looked down at her lap and fought back more tears. "A friend of mine...Jessica...she's from here. I was a bit weary about girls from Cardiff after -" She looked up at Gwen who looked away guiltily. "Anyway, I was meant to be staying with her until I plucked up the courage to come and speak to you. Last night we were...we were...having a few drinks and...we heard someone at the door but they weren't knocking. They were...pounding on it and scratching at it...I told her...I told her not to answer it and to just...call the police or something but she...I heard her scream and I went out into the hallway and I saw it...this thing...it had these huge teeth and it...it tore her to shreds. There was nothing I could do. I just stood there and watched it all happening like I was on another planet. I looked down and I was...I was covered in her blood...it started to come towards me but I ran out the back door. I let her get killed. I just stood there."

Owen pulled her into a hug against his chest and held her tight as Lucy broke into fresh sobs.

"It wasn't your fault." He whispered. "You couldn't do anything. You couldn't save her. You had to save yourself."

"Owen..." Gwen said hesitantly. "Do you think it was -"

"A Weevil." Owen nodded. He let go of Lucy and placed a kiss on her forehead. He walked over to Gwen to talk to her quietly without Lucy overhearing. "I need to get Jessica's body and warn Jack about the Weevil on the loose. Tosh and Ianto can go out looking for it. You stay here with Lucy."

"Owen, I'm the last person Lucy wants to be in a room with." Gwen whispered.

"Please Gwen, look after her for me." He begged.

"I'll do my best." She promised.

"Thank you. I love you." He told her.

"Love you too." She replied.

He pulled her into a desperate kiss before glancing back at Lucy and leaving the room.

Gwen watched him leave then turned back to Lucy. She'd been watching the two of them and Gwen now felt uneasy as the two girls just stared at each other. Lucy looked away first and Gwen took this time to observe her old friend.

She'd changed so much. Her long, beautiful, blonde hair had been cut and styled so that it now rested at her shoulders and shaped her face. She'd dyed it a light brown. Gwen remembered that Lucy had quite a baby face but now her features had sharpened and she wasn't a cute little girl any more, she was a young, beautiful woman. Lucy had never worn make-up either and the clothes she was wearing, a tight, low cut t-shirt with a knee length skirt and high heels. Young Lucy would have blushed if she could see herself now. Gwen almost hadn't recognised her at the station. It was the eyes that gave her away. So much like her cousin Owen's.

"Is there anything I can get you?" Gwen asked quietly. "A drink? A hot drink? Cold drink?"

"Water." Lucy whispered. "Can I have some water?"

"Of course, I'll get it now. I'll be right back." Gwen told her.

Gwen quickly went and got her a glass of water and returned to the boardroom. She placed the glass in front of Lucy who took it and drank thirstily.

"Thanks." She mumbled.

"It's ok." Gwen said. "Lucy, I am so sorry about what happened to your friend. I can't imagine -"

"I don't want to talk about it any more." Lucy interrupted. "Jessica's gone and none of us can change that. That's that." Gwen looked away sadly and silence fell between them. "So...you and Owen? How long's that been going on?"

"Almost two months now." Gwen answered. "We met up again recently and well...here we are."

"Why didn't you ever try and get in touch with him? When you left, why did he never hear from you again?" Lucy asked. "Why didn't I?"

"I wanted to call, I wanted to see you both again but...I didn't want to upset you. I didn't want to get in the way of you and Owen and I didn't think you'd want to speak to me." Gwen explained.

"If you didn't want to upset me, why did you shag him in the first place?" Lucy shouted.

"I don't know. It just...happened." Gwen told her. "What happened that night, was never meant to happen. It was meant to be just a bit of harmless flirting but it...it got out of hand. I know you don't want to hear this but when he kissed me, he made me feel so special and...deep down I knew...I was in love with him."

"Do you love him now?" Lucy asked.

"I do. So much." Gwen answered.

"And this thing between you, is it serious?" She asked.

"I don't know. I hope so. I really love Owen and he means so much to me." Gwen told her. "You mean a lot to me Lucy."

The two girls looked at each other before Lucy sighed and shook her head.

"This is stupid." She said. "Look, I over reacted. What happened between you and Owen was none of my business. I just wanted him to be happy and because of me, he wasn't. Now you're together again, he has a chance to be happy and I'm not going to get in the way of that. I'm sorry..." Gwen looked at her in surprise as the other girl started to cry again. "I've missed you Gwen. I am so sorry Gwen. I don't know where I am and I don't know what's going on. All I know is, I lost one friend today and I just...I want my best friend back. Can you forgive me Gwen?"

Gwen quickly crossed the room to sit beside her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"You have done nothing wrong Lucy." Gwen whispered. "It should be me begging for your forgiveness."

Lucy giggled through her tears as Gwen started to cry with her.

Owen had picked up the body of the young girl and was on his way back to the Hub. Lucy had been right, Jessica had been torn apart. The sight had even made him want to throw up. He'd seen some pretty disgusting things with Torchwood and he'd seen what aliens could do to people. But for Lucy to see it happening in front of her eyes was what made everything worse for him. His delicate, little cousin Lucy had to witness something as horrific as that.

He hoped Gwen and Lucy were getting along. They were the two most important women in his life and he couldn't live without either of them. He knew Gwen would take care of Lucy while he was away, if Lucy would let her of course.

When he arrived back at the Hub, he put the body down in cold storage and started to head back up to the boardroom.

"Owen." Jack called from his office.

"Yeah." He replied and went to stand in the doorway. "I told the police the case is ours and the body's in cold storage. Tosh and Ianto left when I did, any news on them?"

"No, they haven't reported anything back yet." Jack told him. "Listen, you and Gwen seem very close to Lucy."

"She's my cousin." Owen said. "And Gwen's ex-best friend. Although, hopefully they'll work it out."

"Ex-best friend?" Jack frowned.

"Yeah. Lucy was the cousin that brought Gwen to my party ten years ago and we...well you know. It didn't go down well with Lucy." Owen explained.

"Right." Jack sighed. "Well anyway, Lucy has to forget and I mean forget this time. No tricking us into thinking you've retconned her."

"No, I agree." Owen nodded. "But is there a way of only deleting the attack? If her and Gwen sort this out, I don't want to take that away from either of them."

"Give her this." Jack said and handed him a small white pill. "It'll erase everything that happened in the time period of the attack. I can't erase Torchwood seeing as what happens here is important to you and Gwen but if any word of Torchwood gets out, I will retcon her. I'm serious this time Owen."

Owen nodded in understanding and left for the boardroom.

He was surprised when he entered the room to see Gwen and Lucy with their arms wrapped tightly around each other, rocking gently as they sobbed into each other's shoulders.

"Everything...ok?" He asked.

Gwen looked back over her shoulder at him and smiled despite her tears.

"Everything's fine." She told him. "Lucy and I have had a chat and...we're ok."

"Good." Owen smiled. He walked over to them and knelt between their chairs as he pulled them both into a hug. He kissed each of their heads before standing up. "Gwen, I need to have a word with you for a minute."

"Ok." She nodded. She took Lucy's hands in hers and looked into her eyes. "Will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine." Lucy reassured her.

Gwen squeezed her hands before following Owen out of the room. He turned to her and held his palm out to show her the little white pill in his hand.

"Jack said it will just erase the attack." Owen said as she was about to argue.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"That's what he said." He replied. "We need to do it Gwen. It's for the best. I don't want her remembering something like that."

"Alright." She sighed. "Just...wait until she's settled down tonight. Oh, erm...I've said she can stay at mine tonight. So I don't think it'll be a good idea if you stayed tonight."

"What if she's ok with me staying over?" Owen asked as he put the pill in his pocket.

"Then you can stay." She nodded. Gwen went to go back into the boardroom but he grabbed her arm and stopped her. His lips crashed down onto hers and he wrapped his arms around her waist. After a few moments, he felt her arms slip around his neck as she responded. She smiled at him in confusion when he pulled away. "What was that for?"

"For being an amazing friend to Lucy and because I have been waiting to give you a proper kiss since this morning." He told her.

She smiled and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Get back in there to Lucy." She giggled. "I'll leave you two to catch up."

Owen went back into the boardroom and sat beside Lucy.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I keep trying to forget it all and just remember Jessica the way she was before...before it happened. I know that's what she'd want me to do. But all I keep seeing is that creature...tearing her apart and her blood...oh God, there was blood everywhere." She said and started to shake again. "Owen, I swear that thing wasn't human. I keep trying to tell myself it was a man in a mask but there was no way another human could rip someone apart as easily as it did. You have to believe me."

"Lucy, we do believe you." He told her. "You're inside the Torchwood Hub and we deal with aliens and all kinds of weird stuff. We generally try and stop attacks like what happened to Jessica from happening. But sometimes...sometimes there's nothing we can do. No amount of monitoring or testing or whatever can keep everything out. There's always a chance that something will slip through our fingers. But most of the time, we are successful, we do save peoples lives."

"Oh my God, you're serious." Lucy gasped. "There are...there are aliens and – and Jessica...oh my God."

"Lucy, I need you to promise me you won't tell anyone about us. This job is dangerous and we can't have anyone find out about us. So please, don't say a word." Owen said firmly.

"No, no I wouldn't." She replied quickly. "Everyone would think I'm a freak anyway. But no, I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you." He smiled. Lucy gave him a small smile back. "So...you're staying at Gwen's tonight. I guess you guys made up then."

"Yeah, we did." Lucy nodded. "Owen, I want to apologise. Ten years ago...I over reacted and I'm sorry that I was the reason you and Gwen weren't together meaning you were unhappy."

"It's ok." He said. "And...I'm sorry I shagged your best friend and...made you...fall out." Lucy giggled and shook her head. "Look, I really don't want to leave you tonight after all this and the fact that we haven't seen each other in years. Would you mind if...if I stayed at Gwen's tonight?"

"What are you asking me for?" Lucy frowned.

"Well...we didn't know if it would be a good idea. You know, me and Gwen...and you." Owen explained.

"As long as you keep it to the bedroom and the noise down, I don't care." Lucy told him. "Owen, I'm not fourteen years old any more. I'm fine, honestly and Gwen...she really loves you. I know she's going to look after you. So you'd better look after her too."

Owen chuckled as she pointed a warning finger at him.

"I will." He nodded. "I love her so much. I think...this is going to sound mental if you actually look at how long we've known each other because it's not exactly long but...I think – I __know__, she's the one."

Lucy grinned at him and reached for his hand to squeeze. Gwen entered the room and looked between the two.

"Sorry, I could come back." She said quickly.

"No Gwen, it's fine." Lucy said. "We were just having a rather interesting chat...about you."

Owen's eyes widened and he shook his head quickly.

"Owen's behaviour is not a good sign." Gwen said. "Although, I don't know if it can get any worse than what he said the last time."

"It's nothing like that, honestly." Owen said quickly. "I was just explaining to Lucy that I love you and she said it was ok for me to stay."

"Oh come on Owen, there was more than that." Lucy teased. The words 'the' and 'one' definitely came up in there somewhere."

"Yeah, ok. Shut up now." Owen sighed.

"You know what, I don't want to know." Gwen said. "Look, Jack thinks it'd be better if I take her to my place. The less time she stays in the Hub, the better. There'll be no...complications." Gwen shot Owen a meaningful look and he nodded. "So, I'll take her home and we'll see you later."

Owen gave both girls a tight hug and kiss, the cheek for Lucy and lips for Gwen.

"I'll see you guys later. I've got to swing by my place and grab some stuff then I'll pick up a pizza or something on my way over." He told them.

"Pizza. That's what me and Jessica were eating before it happened. We'd got back in after a night out and ordered a late night pizza. She always craves – __craved__ – pizza after a drink. So we got one and had a couple more with it." Lucy remembered.

Owen and Gwen looked at each other before looking back at Lucy. Gwen put her arm around her and started to guide her out of the room.

"Come on." She whispered.

Gwen took Lucy back to her flat and tried to keep her occupied so her mind wouldn't wander. Owen arrived later in the evening with Chinese for them.

"How is she?" Owen whispered to Gwen when she took his overnight things from him and followed her into her room.

"She's ok." Gwen answered. "She's had a bath and I think...I think she's been crying but she hasn't said anything. I gave her something of mine to wear and now she's just curled up on the sofa. Poor girl's exhausted."

"I smell food." Lucy called from the living room.

"Yeah, I got Chinese." Owen called back.

"Well bring it in here then." Lucy said. "I'm starving."

"I'm coming." Owen sighed. He turned to Gwen and handed her the retcon pill. "Make us a drink will you? And erm...don't forget which cup you put that in."

"I won't." She said and rolled her eyes.

Gwen made the drinks and kept her eyes on Lucy as she placed the retcon in her tea. Giving it an extra stir, she made sure to take Lucy's cup first before coming back for hers and Owen's. As she sat down, she nodded slightly to Owen and he nodded back.

After a while, Lucy's eyes started to droop and Gwen looked at Owen in panic.

"It's ok." He whispered. "It's meant to happen."

She quickly grabbed a spare duvet and pillow for Lucy and Lucy lay down on the sofa.

"That's it." Gwen said. "Just relax. We'll see you in the morning sweetheart. Goodnight."

"Wait." Lucy mumbled. She grabbed Gwen's arm as her and Owen went to walk off into the bedroom. "Stay, please. Just until I drop off. I don't...I don't want to be alone."

"Ok." Gwen nodded in understanding.

She sat herself on the floor in front of the sofa and held Lucy's hand in hers. Owen sat in the chair watching them.

He couldn't help but smile at the way Gwen was mothering Lucy. They were the same age yet Gwen seemed to be playing the mother hen and Lucy was letting her as if she wanted someone to look after her. Maybe it was because the way Gwen was acting, was the closest thing to a mother Lucy had had. Like Owen, she didn't get on too well with her mother.

As he looked at Gwen, he suddenly saw her, sitting as she was but her stomach was swollen, his child inside. At first, he welcomed the image but then it started to freak him out. It was way, way too soon to think of that.

Gwen turned to him and noticed him staring, his eyes wide.

"Everything ok, Owen?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, fine." He nodded quickly.

Gwen frowned and looked at him for a while before turning back to Lucy.

"She's gone." She whispered and let go of her hand. When she stood up, she held her hand out to Owen. "Come on, let's go to bed."

Owen shut the bedroom door behind him after one last glance at Lucy. He frowned as he turned and saw Gwen digging out something to change into.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Changing." Gwen answered.

"But I thought we established a rule." He said, his eyebrows raised suggestively.

"Owen, your cousin's out there." Gwen argued.

"She's out cold." He told her.

"But it's...weird. I can't do it." She replied.

"Fine." Owen sighed.

Once Owen was just in his boxers and Gwen had changed into a vest top and shorts, they climbed into bed and curled up together.

"I know it's been hard for you to see Lucy like that." Gwen said as he ran his fingers through her hair. "But she's safe now and we'll look after her until she's ready to go home. I want you to know that I'm here for you both."

"I know you are." Owen nodded. "Thank you. For everything you've done and everything I know you will do. I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled and leant up to give him a gentle kiss. "Goodnight."

"Night." He whispered.

Owen and Gwen woke up to high pitched screaming from the other room. Glancing at the clock, Owen noticed it was one in the morning before jumping out of bed and running into the living room. He was aware of Gwen stumbling out behind him as they made their way to Lucy.

"Owen." Lucy sobbed. "The creature, it was coming for me...I couldn't get away...I couldn't..."

"The retcon didn't work." Owen hissed as he sat on the sofa and took Lucy in his arms. "It's ok. You're safe. We won't let anyone hurt you."

Gwen sat beside them and rubbed Lucy's back.

"Owen's right. We're not going to let anything harm you." She said. Once Lucy had calmed down enough, the couple stood up to let her lie back on the sofa. "Do you want us to stay until you go to sleep again?" Gwen yawned.

"No, you two go back to bed." Lucy said. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's alright sweetheart. We're here for you whenever you need us." Gwen replied. "Do you need anything? Glass of water?"

"Please." Lucy smiled gratefully.

Gwen poured her a glass and gave her a hug before heading back into her room. Owen gave Lucy's shoulder a squeeze and followed Gwen out.

"Has it happened to anyone before, the retcon not working?" Gwen asked as they climbed back into bed.

"Not that I know of." Owen answered. "But Jack said that there is a possibility. One in a million or something. I guess we're looking at that one."

"Do you think she's going to be ok?" Gwen sighed.

"She'll be fine." Owen told her. They managed to get an hours sleep before Lucy woke up screaming once again. Owen turned to Gwen as she started to jump out of bed. "I'll go, you get some sleep."

"It's ok." Gwen mumbled. "I can come with you."

"No, go back to sleep." Owen said firmly.

She didn't protest and lay back down. He placed a kiss on her forehead and left the room.

Lucy woke up sobbing or screaming several times throughout the night and Gwen and Owen took it in turns to go out and comfort her. Eventually, the three managed to get some sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Owen woke slowly and turned to look at Gwen. She was lying, spread out on her front, sleeping heavily and snoring quietly. He chuckled as he closed his eyes to try and slip into a doze. A soft knocking sounded on the door and he sat up slowly.

"Yeah?" He mumbled. Lucy poked her head around the door and smiled apologetically. "Hey, you knocked." Owen laughed.

"Yeah, think I learnt my lesson the last time." She said. She looked at Gwen and bit her lip. "She still sleeping? I'll talk to you later, I don't want to wake her."

"No, it's alright." Owen replied. "You'll need a bomb to wake her up. What is it?"

"I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for last night. I didn't mean to wake you, it's just those dreams were so...you didn't have to do what you did last night." Lucy told him.

"We promised we'd look after you, didn't we?" He argued.

"I bet it was like having a new born baby." Lucy laughed. Owen froze and stared wide-eyed at his cousin but she didn't seem to notice. "Listen, you try and get some more sleep, I'll make breakfast. It's the least I can do."

Owen just stared at the door, long after Lucy had left. He sat there for so long, he didn't notice Gwen stir beside him.

"Owen, what is it?" She asked quickly as she attempted to push herself up. "Where's Lucy? What's happened?"

"Nothing...nothing..." He replied, shaking his head and continuing to stare at the door. "Lucy's making breakfast."

"Owen, you're scaring me." She told him and sat up.

He turned to face her and his eyes dropped to her stomach before looking up at her.

"It's nothing, I swear." He said. "You're on the pill right?"

Gwen almost choked on air. It wasn't a question she was expecting to be asked first thing in the morning.

"Wow. Erm...personal question there – but an important one I guess if you're a couple and you're only just in the early stages of a relationship." She said. "Yes, I am. Why?"

"Well, it's like you said. It's important to know these things especially when we've only been seeing each other two months. We don't want to make any mistakes, do we?" He laughed.

"I guess not." She laughed, though she was still quite confused. "Where has this come from then?"

"Just...I don't know really." He shrugged. He couldn't admit to Gwen that he'd been picturing her pregnant with his child. It was a relief that Lucy had woken him up one of the times as he'd just started to dream about Gwen and him with triplets. All three of them had been screaming their heads off in each corner of the room and he was standing in the middle of a messy flat, filled with nappies and bottles, not knowing what to do and wanting to tear his hair out. Gwen had walked in, her stomach swollen with another child, her face red as she screamed at him. He was glad to be woken out of that nightmare. "Come on, I smell bacon."

Owen quickly jumped out of bed, ignoring the suspicious looks Gwen was giving him.

"Breakfast's done." Lucy announced as they entered the living room. Gwen smiled and tried to stifle a yawn but her eyes with their dark circles gave her away. "Gwen, I'm really sorry about last night. Look, I really appreciate everything you've both done for me but I think I should find somewhere else to stay before I go home. I don't want to be a burden on you both. Your job sounds mad enough without adding me and my stupid nightmares."

"Lucy, don't be stupid." Gwen said. "You are not a burden. You're my best friend and Owen's cousin and we will look after you because we love you. Don't you dare talk like that again. I'm a very tired lady so do not try to argue with me. I will win every time."

"Yeah, she's not joking either." Owen added. "Gwen's right Lucy. We care about you so we're not going to let you suffer through this alone."

"Thanks guys." Lucy smiled shyly. "I've been thinking, what about Jessica's family? Are you going to tell them that she was killed by an alien?"

Owen glanced uncomfortably at Gwen before looking back at his cousin.

"We can't tell them that." Owen answered. "We'll..."

"You'll tell them lies." Lucy said angrily. "You can't do that. They have a right to know the truth."

"God you sound just like Gwen." He sighed.

Gwen stepped forward, ignoring Owen's comment and looking at Lucy sympathetically.

"I don't like it either but what do you think the truth is going to do to them? Even if we did tell them, do you think they'll believe us? They'll think it's a sick joke or something. Come on Lucy, you know it's for the best." Gwen reasoned.

Lucy sighed and nodded reluctantly.

"Breakfast's getting cold." She mumbled.

As they were finishing, Owen's phone began to ring and he checked the screen before quickly leaving the room to answer it.

"Jack. Yeah, I know we're late but we had a bit of a long night." He said.

"Spare me the details of what you and Gwen were up to." Jack replied.

"No, it wasn't anything like that." Owen sighed. "The retcon we gave Lucy didn't work. She kept waking up in the middle of the night screaming. She still remembers everything."

"I had a feeling this would happen." Jack sighed. "The more traumatic an event, the harder it is to erase."

"So what do we do?" Owen asked.

"I don't know." The Captain admitted. "We could try and give her the full dose of retcon. That would mean she forgets everything that's happened these past couple of days."

"No, Jack I can't do that to her." Owen argued.

"Then I don't have any more suggestions." Jack replied. "Owen, you have to do what's best for her."

"Alright, I'll think about it." He snapped. "How did Tosh and Ianto get on anyway? Did they catch it?"

"Yeah, it returned to the scene of the crime. They had to take it out, it wasn't going to come quietly." Jack told him.

"It's better than what I would have done to it." He muttered. "Jack, I don't want to leave Lucy on her own at the minute. Is there any way you could give me the day off, or Gwen, or both?"

"No. I need you to open up our Weevil friend and find out what got him so excited. As for Miss Cooper, I want to observe how she's doing in her training, perhaps take her for some practice down in the firing range."

"I already took her for practice." Owen told him.

"I know. I saw it on the CCTV cameras." Jack said, his voice sounding slightly annoyed.

"Forgot about those." Owen said to himself. "Well it wasn't as bad as what happened when I taught her how to take down a Weevil. Look, Jack, I'm just asking for one day. We'll do double the work tomorrow."

"Sorry, no can do. We need to find out what happened so it doesn't happen again and I need every member of my team trained to the best of their ability so that we're ready for anything." Jack replied. "You've got an hour to get your asses down here."

Before Owen could argue, Jack had put the phone down. He sighed and went back into the living room where the girls were washing up.

"Gwen, we've got to go into work." He said.

"But what about Lucy?" Gwen frowned. "We can't leave her alone and I was going to take her shopping so we could get her some more stuff. Lucy said she doesn't want to go back to Jessica's place and get her stuff."

"It's ok." Lucy said. "I'll be fine. I'll go myself."

"Are you sure? I can always tell Jack to stick it if you need me." Gwen told her.

"Go to work." Lucy giggled.

"Alright." Gwen nodded, though Owen could see the reluctance in her eyes. The couple quickly got ready for work and started to leave. "Now, you've got our numbers if you need us. Just call one of us and we'll be here as fast as we can. Stick to crowded areas and stay away from dark or deserted areas. Call me when you get back, ok?"

"Yes mum." Lucy sighed sarcastically.

Owen wondered whether these two women were trying to torture him or if they actually had no idea what these comments were doing to him.

"I know, I'm being silly." Gwen smiled and pulled Lucy into a hug. "Just take care."

She let go and took a step back as Owen hugged his cousin.

"See you later Midget." Owen smiled.

"Don't start with that again." Lucy warned.

"What? I always called you Midget." Owen teased.

"I know." She nodded in annoyance. "Call me Midget again and I'll tell Gwen what you said yesterday."

"Tell her." He shrugged. "I was thinking about telling her myself."

"Really?" Lucy gasped. "Does that mean – are you going to -"

Gwen looked between them, totally lost and confused.

"Excuse me, sorry. Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?" Gwen asked.

"I'll tell you later." Owen answered. "And Lucy, if you're talking about what I think you are, then no. I'm crazy not completely mental."

"But would it be crazy?" Lucy asked.

"Yes." Owen nodded. "And I'd rather you didn't try and plant any ideas."

"But if you already know how you feel, does it really matter when?" Lucy pointed out.

"I just don't want to cock it up ok?" Owen argued.

"Ok, what the hell is everyone talking about?" Gwen demanded. She folded her arms and looked expectantly at Owen. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me."

"Thank you Lucy." Owen muttered. "Now look what you've done."

Lucy looked between them sheepishly and quickly grabbed the jacket Gwen had borrowed her.

"I'll leave you two to it." She said and ran out of the flat.

Owen took Gwen's hand in his and closed the door behind Lucy before leading her into the living room.

"Ok, I wasn't actually that serious. Jack's going to kill us if we're any later." Gwen told him.

"Jack can wait a little longer." Owen said. "Lucy has so ruined this now. I was going to wait until she'd gotten over all this and then ask her to go out or something. She could have stayed at my place while we stayed here or the other way round. I just wanted to make this...romantic. A few candles, wine, nice meal...bubble bath later."

"Owen, what is it?" Gwen asked.

He knew he'd started to babble and he sighed as he rested his forehead on hers.

"I love you." He told her. "And I was telling Lucy how much I love you and I said that...maybe you're the one."

"Do you mean that?" She whispered.

"I do." He nodded. "This is all I've wanted since I was sixteen. You're all I've wanted. Now that I've got you, I am never letting you go."

Gwen held his face in her hands and kissed him lovingly.

"I love you, Owen Harper and I have done since I was fourteen years old and I always will." She told him. Gwen glanced over her shoulder and sighed as she looked back at him. "We have to be going to work."

"Hang on." He said and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He heard her sigh as he caught her lips in a tender kiss. "Ok, let's go."

"I wish we didn't have to." She sighed.

"Me neither." He replied. "Look, there's something else we need to talk about. I told Jack about the retcon not working on Lucy and he said we could try a full dose of retcon. That would mean though, that she forgets __everything__ that's happened. The attack, seeing us again, everything, she'll just forget."

"We can't do that. She's your cousin and you've just got her back. Who knows how long it will be until you speak to each other again. Plus, where's she going to go? Jessica's gone and she won't know what happened." Gwen argued.

"We'd think of something." Owen told her. "Look, we have to think of what's best for Lucy here, not what's best for us."

"I know." Gwen sighed. "Can we at least talk to her about it? See how she feels about it first."

"Ok, if it makes you feel better." Owen nodded.

"Thank you." She replied.

As Owen was finishing off the autopsy on the Weevil, his phone started to ring. He sighed as he juggled with the surgical tools in his hands and tried to grab his phone from his pocket. Eventually, he gave up and threw them on the tray before picking up his phone.

"Yep?" He said.

"It's me, Lucy." Lucy replied. "Just wanted to let you know I'm back at Gwen's so you can tell her to stop worrying."

"I will do." He chuckled. "Are you alright though?"

"I'm fine." She answered. "It's a little bit scary being here on my own but I'll be ok."

"Do you need one of us to come back?" He asked.

"No, no. I'll be alright. I bought myself a DVD, I'll just stick it on and curl up on the sofa with a nice mug of tea." She told him.

"Alright. We should be back soon but don't hold me to that. Anything can happen with this job." He sighed. "See you later."

"Laters." Lucy replied and ended the call.

Owen jogged up to the workstations to find Gwen but found only Tosh.

"Gwen still down in the firing range with Jack?" He asked.

Tosh brought up the CCTV footage on one monitor while looking at another which had a lot of complicated equations on. He'd always been secretly impressed and in awe of her technological mind. He would never tell her that though.

"Yep." Tosh answered as she quickly glanced at the other monitor.

Owen took a step forward to watch Gwen as she took her stance in front of the Weevil targets.

"God, my girlfriend's sexy when she's handling a weapon." He mumbled to himself.

"Owen, if you're going to get off while watching her, please take a PDA to the boardroom and put it up on one of the monitors there." Tosh said.

"Why do that when I can go watch the live show?" Owen grinned and ran off in the direction of the firing range.

When he entered, he hid in the shadows and watched Gwen at work. He smirked at the look of concentration on her face. Her eyes were narrowed and her jaw clenched slightly. A hair fell across her face and she tried to blow it out of her way but ended up flipping her hair. He clenched his fists as she took a deep breath causing her chest to rise. Her lips parted slightly as she let it out and fired.

He had no idea how long he'd been watching her but by the time she'd finished, there were crescent shaped dents in the palm of his hands where his nails had dug in. His jaw ached from being clenched for too long and he was shaking slightly.

"Good work Gwen." Jack nodded approvingly. Owen jumped out of his skin as he hadn't even noticed the Captain in the room. "I think we should stop there, I don't know how long your boyfriend can stand it."

Owen froze and turned a deep shade of red at being caught perving on his girlfriend. Gwen looked round in surprise as Owen shuffled out into the room.

"Lucy...erm...Lucy called. She's back home and she's fine." Owen mumbled, unable to look at her.

"Oh good." Gwen said.

"Yeah. I'll erm...go now." He replied.

"No. Stay." Jack grinned, loving how torturous it was for Owen. "How did the autopsy on Big Guy go? Did you find anything?"

"There were high levels of cocaine and alcohol in it's system. Don't ask me how it got there but I'd put my money on a bunch of pissed up students not realising what it was and getting it high." Owen explained.

"Partying with a Weevil. Never tried that before and I don't intend to." Jack said. Owen glanced at Gwen for the first time and she smirked at him. "I'll leave you two love birds alone but listen, you make a mess, you clean it up."

"Get lost Jack." Gwen sighed. Jack chuckled and left leaving the couple alone. "So what were you doing lurking in the shadows?"

"I...didn't want to distract you." Owen lied.

"Yeah sure." Gwen smiled. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him. Owen smiled as she pulled away. "So Lucy's ok?"

"She's fine. She's going to watch a film to pass the time away." He told her.

"She didn't sound...scared or anything? Like she wanted someone to be there with her?" Gwen asked.

"Lucy is absolutely fine." Owen answered. "Stop worrying, she's going to be alright."

"I know." Gwen sighed. "I'm fussing but I can't help it. She's like my little..."

"Please don't say girl." Owen thought pleadingly.

"Sister." Gwen finished and Owen breathed a sigh of relief. "I feel really protective of her. You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do." He nodded. "It's great that you feel this way and you want to look out for her and everything but I don't think you need to fuss over her as much as you do. She's a young woman, she knows how to take care of herself."

"You're right, of course." She sighed.

"For once." He laughed. "Come on, let's go back up to the Hub. I have a Weevil to sew back up."

"Lovely." Gwen cringed as he threaded his fingers through hers and they started to walk back up to the main area of the Hub.

"Oh come on. You know it totally turns you on, seeing me up to my elbows in alien guts." He joked.

"Yeah. Total turn on." Gwen nodded sarcastically.

"I've seen you staring when I've been at work." He teased.

"To be honest, it's the white coat and gloves." She replied. "I don't know what it is about them but I just can't stop wondering what those gloved hands would feel like. It's a bit wrong really. You're cutting up aliens but I just..."

Owen turned to smirk at her and wriggled his eyebrows.

"Maybe one day you'll find out what it's like to have these gloved bad boys on you." He said, waving his hands in the air.

Gwen giggled and hit his arm playfully.

That night as they ate dinner, Gwen fidgeted uncomfortably as she looked at Lucy. Owen placed a comforting hand over hers and squeezed gently. She took a deep breath before addressing Lucy.

"Lucy, there's something we want to talk to you about." She said.

Lucy looked between them and at their joined hands.

"Are you pregnant?" Lucy asked.

"What? God no. No, it's nothing like that." Gwen answered quickly. "No, it's about those dreams you had last night."

"We can stop them." Owen added. "If you want us to."

"God yes. Please." Lucy nodded. "How can you stop them?"

"Lucy, it's not as simple as it seems." Owen told her. "Torchwood have this pill called retcon. It's an amnesia pill. We'd give it to you and you'd forget the attack. The thing is...you'd also forget everything that happened after the attack too. You'd wake up and remember nothing about the attack or...this. You wouldn't remember seeing either of us. You'd just carry on with your life as if none of this happened."

"So the only way you can stop these dreams is to make me forget everything?" Lucy asked.

"Yes." Gwen nodded.

"No." Lucy said simply. "I don't want to forget what happened to Jessica. It would make me feel selfish and...I can't do it. It's not right."

"Lucy, would Jessica want you to suffer like this?" Gwen asked.

"No." Lucy answered. "But I still can't do it. I want to know the truth about Jessica's death, not some fake story you'll probably spin me. And I don't want to forget about seeing you again. I was trying to build up the courage to find you so who knows how long it would take to do it. Plus, I don't know how I'd react to the news of you two when I find out again. I'm not taking this retcon thing."

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Owen asked.

"Yes." She nodded. "I just have to try and put this behind me and just think about all the fun times I had with Jessica."

"And you know we'll help you through it." Gwen told her.

"I know." Lucy smiled.

A week later, Lucy felt she'd be ok to go home so Gwen and Owen decided to take her out for a few drinks a couple of nights before. They were sat in one of the stalls when a figure stood at their table.

"Hey Gwen." A male voice said.

"Rhys." Gwen gasped as she looked up at the man standing beside her. Owen immediately felt a strong sense of possessiveness and shuffled closer to Gwen, keeping his arm draped over her shoulders. He stared at Rhys, his eyes narrowed slightly. Gwen glanced at him before looking back at Rhys. "It's good to see you again. Erm...this is Owen, my...boyfriend and this is Lucy, Owen's cousin. Owen, Lucy, this is my...Rhys."

"Ex-boyfriend, Gwen." Rhys said. "You can say it." Owen gritted his teeth as Rhys' eyes drifted to Lucy and lingered a little too long. Lucy smiled up at Rhys and twirled a hair around her fingers. "Nice to meet you."

Rhys held out his hand to her and she shook it, her cheeks turning pink. He looked at Owen and let go quickly, holding his hand out to him. Owen leant forward and shook it roughly before sitting back in his seat and tightening his grip on Gwen. Rhys looked back at Lucy and smiled. Gwen looked between the two of them and a smile crept across her face.

"Rhys, why don't you have a drink with us?" Gwen suggested.

Owen's eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at his girlfriend.

"Oh no, I couldn't. I – erm – I don't want to intrude." Rhys said quickly after catching Owen's look.

"Please stay." Lucy begged, moving along the seat and tapping the empty space she'd created.

Rhys looked between the three of them awkwardly. Owen sighed as Gwen turned to look at him and used her big, green eyes to plead with him. He couldn't look across at Lucy as he knew she'd be doing the same. Knowing he was defeated, he gestured to the empty seat.

"Yeah, sit down." He nodded. "I'll get us all a drink."

Gwen slid out of the seat so he could get past and sat back down. She watched curiously as Lucy and Rhys began to talk.

When Owen returned with the drinks, there were a few minutes of awkward silence before Gwen started the conversation off. Soon, Lucy and Rhys seemed to forget the couple sitting across from them. Owen watched, his fists clenched as he silently dared Rhys to try and make a move on his baby cousin. Gwen placed a comforting hand on his knee and smiled.

"Relax." She whispered. She leant forward to catch Lucy's attention and gestured to the side. "Lucy, I'm going to freshen up, want to come?"

"Oh, yeah ok." Lucy nodded.

"We'll see you boys in a minute." Gwen smiled. Once she'd stood up, she turned to Owen and held his face in her hands. She leant down and captured his lips in a gentle kiss. "Be nice." She whispered and kissed him once more before turning and heading to the bathroom with Lucy. Owen turned to look at Rhys who was averting his eyes and looking down at the table in front of him. As Gwen and Lucy were reapplying their make-up, Gwen turned to look at Lucy. "So what do you think of Rhys?"

"He's...nice. I like him, he's funny." Lucy answered.

"You like him? How much do you like him?" Gwen enquired.

"Well...he's cute, I guess." Lucy blushed. "But I don't really know him well enough to like him in...__that__ way."

"Why don't you take Rhys for a quiet chat and get to know him a bit better?" Gwen asked. "You never know, there could be a little romance in the air tonight."

"Oh no." Lucy giggled. "I couldn't. He's your ex-boyfriend, I could never do that to you."

"I'm telling you to go and talk to him." Gwen said.

"But...I can't. You're my best friend and...he's your ex, it's just...not right." Lucy told her.

"Do I need to remind you that your best friend is currently sleeping with your cousin?" Gwen sighed.

"Good point." Lucy replied. "Ok, I'll do it."

"Alright." Gwen grinned. "Come on then."

"What? Now?" Lucy gasped.

"Yes now." Gwen laughed and pulled Lucy out of the bathroom. When they got back to their table, they found Owen and Rhys sitting in awkward silence. "We're back. Rhys, Lucy's got something she wants to ask you."

Gwen sat down and nodded encouragingly to Lucy.

"Rhys...would you like to come and...have a drink with me? You know...somewhere a little more...quieter?" Lucy asked shyly.

"Erm...yeah, of course." Rhys nodded.

Owen glared at him as he left the table with Lucy.

"What the hell are you doing?" He hissed to Gwen.

"Look at them." Gwen smiled. "They look so cute together. They could be so happy."

"I swear if that meat head lays a hand on her, I'll turn him into mince meat." Owen growled.

"Rhys isn't like that." She defended. "He's kind and sweet and gentle. He wouldn't hurt a fly and he definitely wouldn't take advantage of Lucy. Rhys is...a rare type of guy. He'd rather take things slow and get to know a girl first, unlike guys like you."

"Hey, I got to know you before we did anything." He argued.

"Yeah but I bet that's not what you'd usually have done." She replied.

"I just...I just don't like him." Owen said.

"Well tough." Gwen snapped. "Look at your cousin. Go on, look." Owen rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest as he turned to look over to where Lucy and Rhys were sitting. They were both laughing and Lucy had a huge smile on her face. "Can't you see how happy she is? Do you want to get in the way of her happiness? Remember how you felt when we couldn't be together. Do you want her to feel like that?"

"No." Owen mumbled. "But she's my baby -"

"Cousin." Gwen finished. "Now who's being the overprotective one? Look, Lucy will always be your baby cousin but she's also a grown woman. You can't always be there to protect her. You've got to let her make her own choices and support her."

"Yeah." Owen nodded. "You're right of course. I just...have to step back and let Lucy grow up."

"And you have to stop spying on her." Gwen laughed as Owen hadn't taken his eyes off Lucy and Rhys. "Look at me."

Owen turned to look back at her and she smiled as she held his face in her hands to kiss him.

"You know, I'm going to find it hard to not spy on them all night." He said, his eyebrows raised suggestively. "I'm going to need something or someone..." He ran his finger across Gwen's bottom lip. "To distract me."

"I'm sure I can arrange that." Gwen breathed and they both smiled as they brought their lips back together.

A while later, Owen had pulled Gwen onto his lap and her fingers were locked in his hair while one of his hands was in her hair and the other was placed at the base of her spine. A cough interrupted them and Owen pulled back slightly, keeping his eyes on Gwen.

"Yeah, sorry. We're done with those glasses, you can take them away." He said and resumed his activities with Gwen. Another cough sounded and he pulled away with a growl. "We're busy."

As he pressed his lips back over Gwen's, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to snap at them and came face to face with his cousin.

"Welcome back to the surface." Lucy said sarcastically.

"Sorry Lucy, I didn't know." Owen shrugged.

"I noticed." She replied. She raised an eyebrow at Gwen who was still sitting in his lap looking dazed. "You ok there?" Gwen nodded and held her thumb up. "Right...anyway...I just wanted to let you both know I'm going back to Rhys'. Bye."

Lucy waved and turned to walk over to Rhys who was waiting for her.

"What?" Owen demanded.

Gwen seemed to snap out of her daze and quickly jumped off his lap.

"I'll be right back." She said quickly and ran over to Rhys. "Oi, you. A word. Now."

"Haven't heard that tone of voice for a long time." He laughed. "Just give me a sec-"

"Now." Gwen growled. She grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Lucy. When they were far enough, she pointed a warning finger and glared at him. "Listen, you'd better not take advantage of Lucy tonight because she's going home soon. I stuck up for you so that you two could talk, so you'd better not cock this up. I swear, if you lay one finger on that girl, I will set my boyfriend on you and when he gets tired, I'll start. So you'd better behave. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah." Rhys nodded quickly. "I won't do anything, I swear. Look, she's only coming over because she saw you two slobbering all over each other and wanted to give you some space. She said she had nowhere else to go so I offered to let her stay on my sofa."

"She could stay at Owen's." She argued.

"She said that but then she remembered she doesn't know where he's living because she hasn't been before." He shrugged. "She didn't want to ask because she's crap at directions and Owen would end up taking her there and it'd disturb you two which would defeat the point of leaving you two alone."

"If you're lying to me..." She warned.

"I'm not." He said honestly. "That's what she said."

"I mean it, no funny business Rhys Williams." She replied.

"I promise, I'll be on my best behaviour." He promised.

"Good." She smiled. "Well...it's been good to see you."

"Yeah, you too." He nodded.

Gwen pulled him into a quick hug then led him back over to Lucy.

"Ok you two, enjoy your evening but not too much fun, eh?" Gwen smiled and turned to Lucy. "And I expect you back at my place bright and early tomorrow morning so no late night."

"Hey, I can get up in the mornings." Lucy laughed. "It's you that needs a stick of dynamite to get you out of bed." Owen walked over to them and wrapped his arm around Gwen's waist and Lucy pointed at him. "So don't you keep her up all night."

"That's not a promise I can keep." He smirked and leant in to nibble Gwen's ear.

"Get out of here you two." Gwen laughed and waved Lucy and Rhys away.

Owen straightened up as they left.

"What? You're just going to let them go?" He demanded.

"Lucy's going to be fine. She's staying on his sofa so we can have the flat to ourselves tonight. I've warned Rhys that if he touches Lucy, you'll hurt him and then I will. He's not going to lay a finger on her." Gwen reassured him.

"He'd better not." Owen growled.

"He won't." She replied and stepped up to stand so their chests were pressed together. "I can tell you're going to need a lot of distracting so let's take advantage of that empty flat."

"It is going to take a lot to keep my mind off them." Owen nodded as Gwen took his hand and started to lead him out. "Like a hot shower, some cherries and squirty cream for the bedroom, some scented candles and lotion and...me and you. Naked."

"Is that all?" She laughed.

"Oh, and some hand clamps. And if you can think of anything else to add." He shrugged.

"Nope, I think you've got everything covered." She replied.

"I haven't yet but I will do." He smirked and grabbed her sides.

She squealed as he tickled her and chased her the rest of the way to her flat.

The next morning, Owen rolled onto his side and let his eyes open. He chuckled as he found Gwen stretching her arms above her head and her toes curled into the sheets.

"I think I need a hot shower." She mumbled. "My whole body is aching and it's your fault."

"Oh come on, you know you enjoyed it." He said and shifted closer to her to nuzzle her neck.

Gwen giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I reckon we've still got a bit of time before Lucy gets back. Carry me to the bathroom and I'll let you break the rule just this once." She said.

Owen was off the bed in seconds and lifted her in a fireman's lift. She cackled wildly as he started to carry her through to the bathroom. Just as they got to the door, Lucy walked into the flat with Rhys following behind her. Gwen yelped and Owen dived into the bathroom. He put her down and she held her face in her hands.

"Well, I guess that means we don't have time." He muttered.

"Oh God, it's like ten years ago all over again." Gwen moaned. "Only this time it's worse because my ex-boyfriend's there too. All we need is my parents and it'd be my worst nightmare."

"It wasn't that bad." Owen tried to reassure her. "I mean, it's not as bad for you. Rhys and Lucy have already seen you naked but Rhys has just seen me in all my glory. It could be worse."

"Owen, don't be disgusting." Gwen spat. "My ex-boyfriend has just seen me being carried naked by my naked boyfriend into the bathroom. How could it possibly get worse?"

"Like you said, your parents could have been here." Owen shrugged.

"You are not helping." Gwen growled. "Pass me a bloody towel, I'm going to get dressed."

Owen grabbed a towel for Gwen and one for himself. After wrapping themselves up, they quickly left for the bedroom, completely ignoring Lucy and Rhys.

They reappeared, fully dressed, a few moments later and stood in the living room, staring down at the floor as Lucy and Rhys stared at them.

"Well...good morning to you too." Lucy said, breaking the silence.

"Look, we didn't mean for you to see that. We didn't think you'd be back yet." Gwen argued.

"Clearly." Lucy replied. "It's like ten years ago all over again."

"Hey, Gwen said that." Owen laughed. Both women turned to glare at him and he looked back down at the floor. "Sorry. Oh and by the way, it's good to see you again...Rhys."

"Yeah, hey Rhys." Gwen said quietly. "So...please don't be angry at us."

"Why would I be angry?" Lucy asked. "I said I was fine with you two. I just wish I had come back a little bit later but Rhys said it'd probably be a good idea to come back now. He didn't want you two on his back."

"Which reminds me. Williams, did you keep your promise?" Gwen asked.

"I did." Rhys nodded.

"Ok, now I'm starting to like you." Owen smiled.

An awkward silence fell in the room as Gwen and Lucy didn't know where to look.

"Alright then." Lucy said. "Well, Rhys, thanks for driving me back. I'll see you soon. You've got my number right?"

Rhys patted his jacket pocket and smiled.

"I have and you've got mine. Let me know when you get settled back home and we'll arrange when I can come and see you." He said.

Gwen and Owen exchanged looks, Gwen smiling and hopeful while Owen looked as if he wanted to take his previous comment back.

"I will." Lucy smiled. "Bye."

"Bye." He grinned back.

"Bye Rhys." Gwen called as he went to walk out.

"Oh, yeah. Bye." He replied as if just remembering that she was there.

When the door closed, Gwen grinned at Lucy and grabbed her hands.

"So, I guess things are going well with Rhys." Gwen smiled.

"Yes." Lucy nodded shyly. "Gwen, he's so sweet and kind and funny. I thought when he said I could go to his place that he'd try and make a move but he didn't. He was such a gentleman. Is this weird me talking about your ex-boyfriend like this? Would it be totally weird if I asked him out?"

"No of course not." Gwen told her. "Oh Lucy, this is brilliant."

She pulled Lucy into a hug as both girls giggled excitedly. Gwen's shoulders cracked and Lucy cringed.

"Are you ok?" Lucy frowned.

"Oh yeah. Shower." Gwen said and quickly left the room, shooting a wink at Owen before she went.

Owen grinned as he watched her leave and couldn't help the growl that left his lips.

"Do I want to know?" Lucy cringed.

He turned to his cousin and wriggled his eyebrows.

"Probably not." He answered. "Lucy...I want to say something. I just want to say that, as your big cousin, I'll always look out for you. That's why I acted protective of you around Rhys. But if you two end up together, I'll back off and I'll be happy for you."

"Thanks Owen. That means a lot to me." Lucy smiled as she pulled him into a hug. "Why do I get the feeling there's another motive behind this speech?"

Owen pulled away and took a nervous breath. Lucy's hands flew to her mouth and she gasped as she guessed what he wanted to say. He looked down at the floor and played with his hands.

"Last night after...when Gwen had fallen asleep, I started to think about what you'd said the other day. About what does time matter if I'm already certain that this is what I want and where I want this relationship to go." He explained.

"Oh my God. You're going to propose to Gwen." Lucy gasped.

"Well...not yet. I still want to wait another couple of months but...yes. I am." He nodded. "I was wondering if you could come out with me and choose the ring. I have no idea what to get."

Lucy squealed and flung her arms around his neck. A few seconds later, Gwen ran into the room clutching a towel and staring wide-eyed around the room.

"What is it? What's happened?" She demanded. She looked around at Lucy who was smiling at her with tears in her eyes. Owen smiled softly at her. "Ok, what's going on?"

"Nothing." Owen answered and stepped up to her. He placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to place his lips gently over hers. "Now, get back in that shower while I take Lucy out for some last minute shopping before she goes."

"What about work? We have to leave soon." She frowned.

"I'll meet you there. Just tell Jack I won't be long. Tell him...this time, I'm not letting Torchwood get in the way." He said.

"What? Ok, now I'm even more confused. What the hell does that mean?" She asked.

"He'll know." Owen told her. "Go on. Shower. I'll see you soon. I love you."

He kissed her gently before she could argue and he felt her melt into the kiss.

"I love you too." She smiled and disappeared back into the bathroom.

"See you later, future Mrs Harper." Lucy said.

Owen turned to glare at her then quickly checked to see if Gwen had heard anything. Luckily, it seemed she hadn't and Lucy had managed to avoid getting a cushion thrown at her.

"You. Keep your mouth shut." Owen warned. "I told you I want to wait and if she finds out now, she might freak out and when I do propose, I want her to be surprised."

"I promise, I won't say a word." Lucy said.

"Good. Let's go." Owen said.

When Lucy took hold of his hand as they walked out of the flat, she found it clammy and he was shaking slightly.

"Aaw. You're nervous." Lucy giggled. "Come on, it's not like you're proposing yet."

"I know. I just...want to get the right ring and I was just thinking...how I'd do it exactly. I mean, what if I go through all this and she says no? What if she doesn't want this? Maybe she's not as sure about us as I am. She didn't tell me she was seeing anyone when we met up again and she was still going out with him weeks after we were meant to be together." Owen rambled. "I think this was a bad idea. I've changed my mind."

Lucy pulled him to a stop as they approached his car and turned him to face her.

"Calm down. Gwen is not going to say no. She loves you more than anything in this world, everyone can see that. Even Rhys saw it. When we got back to his place, he said he'd never seen Gwen as happy as she was last night. He said she was like a whole new woman. You are the one she's been waiting for since she was fourteen years old and she is never going to let you go. When you propose, Gwen will say yes." Lucy reassured him.

"Do you really think so?" Owen asked.

"I don't think it, I know it." Lucy replied.

"Then...I'm going to do this." He nodded. "And...I know exactly when I want to do this."

"When?" Lucy asked excitedly.

"Eighth of July." He answered.

"Her birthday." Lucy smiled.

"Yep. After a romantic meal I'll make, we'll curl up on the sofa and watch the sunset over Cardiff out of the window. Then I'll hand her the ring all wrapped up and say it was a present I forgot all about. When she opens it, I'll get down on one knee and I'll ask her to marry me." He said, his mind drifting off as he thought about it.

"That's so cute." Lucy giggled. "Hang on, her birthday's already gone."

"Yeah I know that." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I meant next year. It's perfect. It gives me the couple of months I wanted to wait to do this and hopefully, she won't think it's too soon."

"Clever." Lucy nodded. "Just one question. How the hell are you going to keep this secret and hide a ring from her for just under a year? The woman used to be a police officer. She'll have it worked out in seconds. Plus, if she suspects something, all she has to do is get you into bed and you'll squeal like a pig."

"Ah. Didn't think about that." He said. "I'll figure that out when I get to it. Let's just buy this ring."

Owen and Lucy climbed into his car and sped off.

Gwen sighed as she stepped out of the shower and grabbed her towel. Owen had been gone all of five minutes and she was already missing him. It had been a while since the two had been separated, especially after Lucy had come to Cardiff.

The flat was so quiet without him as she wandered into her bedroom. Their bedroom? Was it their bedroom now, seeing as Owen had been practically living there the past week?

Whether it was her bedroom or theirs, it was still too quiet. If Owen were there or she were at his, he'd be filling the silence with his jokes or trying to get her back into bed or sometimes they'd just talk. She liked it when they talked. It made her feel like a normal couple, not a couple that secretly went to fight off aliens. She could tell him anything and he'd listen, just like she would with him.

Sitting down on his side of the bed, she picked up the pillow he'd been lying on and breathed in his scent. How pathetic did she feel?

She spotted his phone on the side and sighed. She couldn't even text or phone him if she wanted to.

Gwen dressed and left the flat quickly so she could distract herself from her thoughts of Owen. She'd see him soon anyway and he hadn't even been gone that long, so why did she miss him so much?

When she arrived at the Hub, she went over to Jack's office to speak with the Captain.

"Good morning Gwen." Jack smiled. "Where's Owen? You two arguing already?"

"No, he's popped out with Lucy. He said he'd be back soon and he said to tell you that this time he's not letting Torchwood get in the way. Does that mean anything to you?" She asked.

"Not that I know of." Jack frowned.

"Well has Torchwood ever messed things up for him in the past? Has he ever blamed Torchwood for anything?" She enquired.

"Well...before he started working here, he was..." Jack's voice trailed off and he looked at Gwen. "No...surely...oh my God, this is brilliant."

"What is? Will someone please explain what's going on to me?" Gwen demanded. "Owen wouldn't tell me, Lucy just stood there grinning at me and now you know. What's all this about?"

"I think I should leave it to Owen to tell you." Jack said.

"But that's just it, he won't tell me." Gwen sighed and pouted at Jack. "Please. I won't tell him you told me. I'll clean Janet's cell out for a month. Please tell me, I hate being in the dark."

"I'm sorry but I really think you should wait for Owen to tell you." Jack replied.

"Oh you're a bundle of help." She mumbled and went to sit at her workstation. She had admin to do but she couldn't concentrate as she started to wonder what Owen was doing. This meant that she was starting to miss him again and she was seconds away from running down to the autopsy bay and grabbing his lab coat. "Get a grip on yourself, Gwen." She hissed to herself.

"Everything ok?" Ianto asked as he appeared by her side with a fresh cup of coffee.

"Yeah." Gwen sighed. "Do you know how to do this thing? I can't remember how to do it. Tosh told me but...she started using all these big words and...my mind just sort of...switched off."

"She does get a little carried away." Ianto smiled. "Here, I'll show you."

Almost two hours later, the Hub door rolled open and Owen walked in. Gwen launched herself out of her chair and ran over to him. He stumbled back as she flung her arms around his neck and crushed her lips onto his. After his initial shock, he grinned and responded eagerly.

"I missed you." She told him.

"Wow. I've only been gone two hours. What would the response be if I'd been gone three?" He laughed.

"Probably would have been...a bit more but don't you dare try and find out." She warned. "I missed you enough."

"Well I missed you too." He smiled. "Did you give Jack my message?"

"Yes." She nodded. There was a glint of something in her eyes but he missed it as she turned away quickly and started to walk back to the workstations. "Actually, he thought I knew what your message meant and he wanted to clarify that what he thought it meant was right. He told me what he thought but...of course I don't know if it's true or not."

"What? He told you?" Owen sighed. "What did he say?"

"Tell me what you meant and I'll tell you if that's what Jack said." She replied.

"I went to – Jack never said anything did he?" Owen smirked.

"No, no he did." Gwen lied. "I'm not lying to you. Why would you think that?"

"Because if you knew what was going on, you'd be reacting a whole lot differently." He answered, thinking of the ring in it's box in his pocket. "A good differently...I hope."

"Owen, please tell me." She begged.

"Not yet." He smiled. She looked at him through her eyelashes and stuck out her bottom lip. "Stop that. You know how much that gets to me." Gwen stepped up to stand in front of him and continued to pout. "No. I'm not telling you. You'll have to wait."

"Why? Do I have to wait long?" She asked.

"Well...I did have a specific time but...it might change. We'll see how things go." He told her. She sighed and he pulled her into a hug. "I love you, you know that right?"

"Of course I do. I love you too." She replied.

"Seriously though, I just want you to know that I love you so much. You mean everything to me." He told her.

Holding her tight against his chest, he buried his face in her shoulder and closed his eyes as he breathed in her scent. He could feel her clinging onto him just as tight as he was her and he felt her place a kiss on his neck.

"Owen...I love you." She whispered. "I can't...I can't imagine my life without you. I've been there and I hated every moment of it and I never want to go back. I want to be with you always."

His heart was screaming at him to pull the ring out now and just propose. What was he waiting for? She'd just told him she loved him and wanted to be with him. But his brain was telling him to do the sensible thing and wait. In his experience, it had never ended well between couples that rushed into marriage. In the end, his heart and his head made a compromise.

"Move in with me." He mumbled into her shoulder.

Gwen pulled away quickly and stared at him with wide eyes.

"What?" She gasped.

"Move in with me." He repeated. "Lucy goes home tomorrow morning. We can move your stuff into mine or mine into yours in the evening. We love each other. I think thinking about each other constantly and finding each other after all these years proves that. If you think about it, we've been together since that first kiss because my heart's always been with you." Gwen continued to stare at him in shock. "Say something. Oh God, I've made a complete idiot of myself haven't I? But I still think it's a good idea. We're practically living -" Owen was cut off by Gwen's lips crushing onto his. "Ok. Was that a 'yes' or an, 'I love you but no'?"

"It was a yes." Gwen smiled. "But I think it would be better for me to move into yours. New relationship, new start."

"I guess." Owen nodded. "But your place feels more...homely."

"Your place just needs a woman's touch." She told him. "We'll make it a home, you'll see."

Jack grinned when he came out of his office and saw the couple wrapped in each other's arms.

"Did you ask her?" Jack asked excitedly.

"Yes, I asked her to move in with me." Owen said loudly and shot a meaningful look at Jack.

"Hang on, is this to do with the thing with Lucy this morning and this 'secret message'? Because if it is...I still don't get it." She frowned.

"Don't worry about it sweetheart." Owen said. "It was just a...wind up. Just something to throw you off the scent."

"You tricked me?" Gwen asked. "Owen Harper, you are sneaky. I like it. Just don't do it again, I am now fully trained in using a gun."

"I won't." He smiled. "I'll be right back, I've just got to talk to Ianto about something."

"Ok, see you soon. Don't be long." She replied. "Oh, I almost forgot. You left your phone at mine."

She slipped his phone into his pocket and he pulled back slightly, praying she wouldn't feel the little box. He gave her a quick kiss before heading down to the archives where he was sure to find Ianto.

As predicted, Ianto was sitting at a small desk hidden at the far end of the room.

"Owen." Ianto smiled. "It's been a while since anyone's visited me down here. What can I do for you?"

"I need you to look after something for me." Owen told him and pulled the ring box out of his pocket.

He placed it on Ianto's desk and the Welshman grinned at him.

"I didn't know you cared." Ianto joked.

"It's not for you, it's for Gwen." Owen sighed. "Look, I just need you to put it somewhere safe for me until I propose. I can't keep it at my flat because Gwen will more than likely find it so I'm trusting you to keep it safe. Don't tell Jack you've got it either because I know he'll end up spilling everything to Gwen."

"You're going to propose to Gwen?" Ianto smiled. "After all those times you told me you loved me when I've brought you a strong, black coffee when you were hungover."

"Can you look after it or not?" Owen snapped.

"Yes." Ianto nodded and picked up the box. Owen rolled his eyes and went to leave. "Owen, seriously though, congratulations. I know you're not engaged yet but, all the best."

"Thanks." Owen replied. "You know, I think you've been spending too much time with Jack. You're getting just as bad as him."

Ianto blushed and stood up.

"Wh-what would – would make you think that I've been spending time with Jack?" He stammered.

Owen just laughed and walked away. Ianto was just about as rubbish at hiding a relationship than his mum was.

When he returned to the workstation area, he stood behind Gwen as she worked on some kind of report. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he leant in to kiss her neck. She giggled and turned her head so he could peck her on the lips.

"Was I quick enough for you?" He asked.

"You could have been quicker." She shrugged. "But you're back now so sit down and no more leaving me today."

"Trust me, I'm not planning on going anywhere else without you today." He said as he sat down beside her. "Actually, do you think that's a bad idea? We're going to be living together meaning we'll be spending a lot of time together..."

"Well, if we ever get into a fight, we could always come down here and go down to the firing range. Shoot each other with rubber bullets." Gwen joked. "You know, me and Rhys could've done with that at times."

"So what did you and Rhys used to do, to cool off?" Owen asked.

"Slammed doors, stormed out. I used to just walk around the town for a bit then when I went back home I'd spend the night on the sofa. Don't ask me what Rhys did, I never bothered asking. He'd come home smelling of booze sometimes." Gwen told him. "Me and Rhys were always fighting, even in the early stages."

"Really? Why?" Owen asked.

"I just think it was because I knew I was...settling for Rhys. I knew what I could have had but I didn't have it and that made me angry." She explained. "I was letting myself settle rather than fighting for what I wanted."

"What did you want?" He enquired.

"You, of course." She answered. "You never told me, have you ever moved in with a girlfriend?"

Owen nodded and looked away sadly.

"We were engaged. We were so close to getting married...but then she started acting odd. At first, Katie was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The youngest person to ever be diagnosed with it. But it didn't seem right to me so I asked for her to have another MRI scan. They found what they thought was a tumour but...when they operated...it turned out it wasn't a tumour but an alien parasite. Captain Jack came running in but he was too late. Katie and all the operating staff were dead." Owen told her. "I still say he could have done something to save her. I mean, he had to know about it before they operated otherwise he wouldn't have come running in. He could have saved her before it got to that stage."

"Owen, I'm so sorry." Gwen whispered.

"It's alright." Owen said. "It is honestly. I mean, I loved Katie and I'll never forget that but now I'm with you and I'm more in love than I've ever been."

Gwen smiled and leant in to kiss him.

"I can't wait to move in with you." She said. He chuckled and leant in for another kiss. "Owen Harper, you will not regret this. Tomorrow night, you will be one very happy and very satisfied young man."

"Just when I thought it couldn't get any better." He smirked.

"Make the most of it, it won't be happening every night." She told him. "Oh and you need to buy curtains. It feels like the whole world's watching us when we go to bed and I hate it."

"Yep, here comes the nagging." Owen sighed.

"It's not nagging, I'm just saying. It makes me uncomfortable when we...and there's nothing stopping people from seeing straight in." She said.

"I'll get it sorted." He promised her.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning while Gwen and Lucy were helping each other pack, Owen headed out into the town centre to do some shopping. He had to get out of the flat as both girls were giggly and excited and he didn't know how long he could stand it. He'd deliberately chosen to walk so it would take him longer. Yesterday had been bad enough with just Lucy bouncing along all excited while they went to choose a ring, there was no way he could handle them both together.

After dragging the shopping out for as long as he could, he took his purchases back to his flat, smiling as he thought about how it was now his and Gwen's flat. He grabbed his phone from his pocket as he took the new blinds he'd bought into his room.

"Hey sweetheart." Gwen's voice greeted him over the phone.

"Hey, how's it going?" He asked. "You two almost done?"

"We'd be going a lot quicker if you'd helped." She replied.

"Look, if you're not done by the time I get back, I'll help. You know I'd have just got under your feet and you'd have ended up kicking me out until you were done anyway." He told her.

"Yeah, I suppose." Gwen sighed.

"Sounds like you and Lucy have calmed down then." He said.

"Yeah, well after about the tenth time of finding another box of crap to sort through, it starts becoming a little less fun." She told him. "What are you up to anyway?"

"I am just about to put these blinds up so we are good to go tonight." He grinned. "I've got a bottle of wine in. I was thinking we could have some dinner and a drink, a rub down in the bath and then you can make good on that promise you made."

"Erm, Owen...you're on speaker phone...and Lucy and Rhys are both here." Gwen said. "My hands were full and it was the only way I could speak to you."

"Hi there, cousin." Lucy called.

"Yeah, hi. Thanks for the warning Gwen." Owen mumbled.

"Sorry. I didn't know you were going to come out with something like that." She argued. "Although, I probably should have known, it is you we're talking about."

"Hey, I'm not – alright, I'll give you that one." He said.

"Hang on." Gwen laughed and he heard the phone being handled then a door being closed. "Ok, I'm back. How long do you think you're going to be?"

"I don't know. Hopefully not too long." He answered. "Why?"

"Because I'm missing my gorgeous boyfriend." She replied. "And I'm starting to feel a little awkward in my own flat. I left the room to fetch a box and when I came back, I could have sworn Rhys and Lucy had been snogging. I think they're at it now."

"What? What the hell is he doing to my little cousin?" Owen demanded.

"Owen, come on. I told you before, Lucy's a big girl now, she can take care of herself and Rhys is not the kind of man who'll sleep with her once and dump her. I think they're really in love with each other." Gwen told him. "Now hurry up. I feel like a third wheel."

"If I come now, these blinds aren't going to get put up today and I know you'll feel uncomfortable about tonight. I really want tonight to happen." He said.

"Owen, I promise if you get here now, you'll get lucky blinds or no blinds." She said.

"On my way." Owen replied quickly and ran out of his flat.

"Thank you. I love you." Gwen said.

Owen slowed down and smiled.

"I love you too." He told her.

When he arrived back at Gwen's flat, he could feel the awkward tension in the air and the flat was silent. He walked into the living room where the three of them were sitting taking things out of boxes and putting them into different ones. Rhys and Lucy were almost sat on top of each other while Gwen sat opposite them. She looked up and smiled in relief when he walked in.

"Hey that didn't take you long." She grinned as she stood up and walked towards him.

Owen wrapped his arms around Gwen's waist and nuzzled into her neck.

"With a promise like that, how could I not hurry up?" He breathed.

She giggled and caught his lips in a quick kiss.

"Get a room." Lucy grinned.

"I can't believe someone else will be living in this place soon." Rhys sighed as he looked around. "We've lived here for years. We've had some good times here. Haven't we?"

Owen's jealous side kicked in as Rhys looked sadly at Gwen and she gazed back at him.

"We have." She nodded. "But it's time we both moved on."

Rhys nodded quietly and looked away. Gwen looked up at Owen and put her arm around his waist. He tightened his grip on her to comfort her as he knew it was going to be hard for her. She was going to be leaving behind happy memories from a huge chunk of her life but now she was coming to live with him and hopefully create new memories.

Once everything had been packed and loaded into Owen's car, the four climbed into Gwen's and drove to the train station to see Lucy off.

Owen was sad that Lucy was going but he was also sort of glad. Him and Gwen had had hardly any time together to be just them. He was looking forward to just being able to do the simple things like curling up together on the sofa.

He was glad no one from work could hear his thoughts right now. They'd be rolling around on the floor laughing if they knew that Owen Harper was thinking about snuggling up on the sofa with Gwen and a blanket draped over them. It just wasn't him. Well, it wasn't the Owen they knew. Gwen was the only one to see his soft side, the real him. He knew she'd picked up on the way he acted differently around the others but she never said anything. It was as if she understood why he did act differently and that was another reason why he loved her. She understood why he did and said certain things when others didn't.

Gwen glanced at him as she drove and smiled nervously when she caught him staring.

"You ok?" She asked.

"I'm fine." He smiled and reached over to place a hand on her knee. "I'm more than fine."

"Easy tiger, save it for tonight." Gwen said, quiet enough so Lucy and Rhys wouldn't hear in the back.

Owen laughed as she shot him a wink and a playful smile.

"For once, I didn't mean it as that kind of gesture." He told her. He laughed again as her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Wow, am I really that bad?"

"Yes." Lucy answered from the back and leant forward between the seats. "To be honest, you both are."

"What? I am not as bad as him." Gwen protested.

"Yes you are." Lucy laughed. "If you two were animals, you'd both be rabbits. Seriously, I could hear you while I was trying to get to sleep."

"Lucy, we didn't...we never...did anything while you were staying with us." Gwen frowned.

"I know. I heard Owen complaining when you told him to stop whatever it was you __were__ doing." Lucy replied. "But you can't lie to me and say you weren't close to doing it."

Gwen and Owen glanced at each other like naughty school children and looked away as they tried not to giggle. Owen stopped when he caught Rhys glaring out the window in the mirror. He noticed Gwen had seen him too and was staring at Rhys. Their eyes met for a few seconds before they both looked away again and Gwen glanced at Owen out of the corner of her eye. Lucy seemed unaware of any of this happening as she sat back in her seat and started chatting away to Rhys. Gwen wouldn't look at anyone for the rest of the journey.

When they reached the station, they all walked down to the platform just as Lucy's train arrived.

"Well, it's been good to see you again and finally work things out." Owen said as he pulled her into a hug. "I love you and thank you for...helping me."

"It's alright." Lucy smiled and winked. "I love you too."

She kissed him on the cheek and turned to Gwen who grabbed her into a tight hug.

"I'm really going to miss you." Gwen told her. "It's been fun having another girl around the place."

"I'll miss you too but you're going to visit right?" Lucy asked. "You have to visit and I'll visit you as often as I can."

"Of course we will." Gwen nodded.

"Good." She replied.

"Will you...will you be alright going back? You can still stay with me and Owen if you're not ready to go back." Gwen told her.

"I'll be fine." Lucy reassured her.

"Ok." Gwen said.

Owen smiled and had to prise Gwen away from her.

"Ok, that's enough." He laughed.

She looked back at Owen with tears in her eyes before resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. He held her tight and kissed the top of her head.

Lucy watched them with tears in her own eyes. She turned to Rhys and took his hands in hers then looked back to Gwen for help.

When Owen looked down at Gwen, she was smiling at him and she pulled back and held his hand.

"Come on." She said and led him further down the platform.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"To give them some privacy." Gwen replied.

"Why? What are they doing? What's he going to do to her?" Owen demanded and went to turn back.

"Owen." Gwen warned. "Leave them alone. Now turn around and kiss me."

He couldn't help but smile as he turned back to her and placed a hand on her hip. He brushed a hair from her face and gently lowered his lips onto hers.

Lucy looked shyly into Rhys' eyes and slowly leant up to kiss his lips. When she pulled back, he was looking at her with a shocked but pleased smile.

"Rhys, me going back to London isn't going to cause any complications with us is it?" Lucy asked.

"No, of course it's not. I said I'd come over to see you and you'll come down and see me. It changes nothing between us." He promised.

"Good." Lucy smiled. People started to board the train and she glanced at the crowds. "I'd better go. See you soon." She kissed him one last time and went to walk away. "Oh, you have to let me know when Gwen and Owen announce their engagement. He said he'd wait until her birthday but I bet he does it before."

"They're engaged?" Rhys demanded. "But they've only been together...what...a couple of months?"

"I know." Lucy sighed dreamily, not picking up on Rhys' anger. "You know, I hated the idea of them being together when I was younger but look at them." She looked through the crowd to where Gwen and Owen were standing with their arms wrapped around each other and gazing lovingly into each other's eyes. "They're made for each other. Look how cute they are."

"Adorable." Rhys mumbled sarcastically.

"Look, I've got to go. Hopefully we'll see each other soon." She said and dragged her suitcase onto the train.

Rhys waved her off then turned to glare at the couple who seemed to not have noticed that the platform was now empty.

"I was wondering if we could change our plans for tonight slightly." Owen said to Gwen.

"How do you mean?" Gwen asked.

"Well, today's a special day for us and I want tonight to be just as special. How about I take you to dinner?" He asked.

"I'd love that." She smiled.

Their lips met and they lost themselves in the kiss meaning they missed the angry Welshman storming over to them.

"You're getting married?" Rhys demanded.

Gwen pulled away and frowned at Rhys.

"What? No, Rhys we're just moving in together." She answered.

"Don't lie to me Gwen." Rhys snapped. "Lucy told me you were engaged. So what, are you pregnant?"

"No." Gwen replied, growing even more confused. "Owen, what's he talking about? Why would Lucy tell him we're engaged?"

Owen gritted his teeth as he glared at Rhys. He knew it was a bad idea to tell Lucy something like this. And why the hell was it any of Rhys' business anyway?

"We're not engaged." Owen told Rhys. "Not yet. I took Lucy to help me choose a ring." He looked at Gwen who was staring back in shock. "I was saving it for your birthday. I thought by then it would have been enough time for us to have just been a couple."

"You were going to propose?" Gwen whispered, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah." Owen smiled.

She went to kiss him when Rhys stormed away and she watched him leave.

"Give us a couple of minutes." She said quietly to Owen and followed after Rhys. Owen sighed as he watched her go. Gwen found Rhys sitting on a bench on one of the other platforms. "What the hell is wrong with you? I thought you were happy for me and Owen."

"I was." Rhys sighed. "But now you're moving in with him and...talking about getting married and...God knows."

"So what if Owen and I do decide to get married? What's it got to do with you? We're not together any more and I thought you liked Lucy." Gwen argued.

"I do. I like Lucy, I really like her." Rhys replied. "But me and you...we were together six years, Gwen. I can't just...throw away feelings I've had for six years."

Gwen softened and she sat beside him and placed her arm around him.

"Rhys, I'll always love you too." She told him. "Like you said, it's hard to just throw away everything we've shared together after six years but we need to let go. We're both a lot happier now and we don't want to ruin it by holding on to the past. Look, you've got Lucy now and even though it's been short, you two have had such a good time together. Think about all the good times you're going to have together. This is a chance for you to be so much happier. It's a chance for us both. Don't you want that?"

"Yeah, I do." Rhys said quietly. "You're right. I'm sorry I blew up, it's just...everything's changing so fast and...I'm trying to keep up. If you and Owen want to get married, you have my blessing. Lucy was right, you two are made for each other."

"Thanks." Gwen smiled.

"So...do you want to marry him?" Rhys asked.

"I...I don't know." Gwen admitted. "I mean, moving in with him is such a big step but marriage...that's a huge leap. We've not been together long, I just don't know if we're ready for that yet. Although, he did say he wasn't planning on asking yet so maybe by the time he does...we will be ready."

"Oh come on Gwen. You've been ready for years. That day...when you told me...about you and him I...I could see so much love in your eyes when you spoke about him and I knew. I knew that's where your heart had really been all these years." Rhys told her.

"You sound like Owen." Gwen mumbled.

"You know it's true, Gwen." Rhys replied.

"I guess it is." She nodded. "Rhys, I'm scared. I want this to work with Owen, I really do. I love him so much. But what if it doesn't? What if it all falls to pieces? What do I do then?"

"You won't have to do anything because this will work. If he loves you as much as you do him – which I know he does and probably more – then everything is going to be fine." Rhys reassured her.

"Yeah. Yeah, it is." She smiled. She pulled him into a tight hug before standing up and holding out her hand. "Come on, we'd better get back before Owen wears out the concrete with his pacing. I'll give you a lift home."

"Cheers." He said and accepted her hand. "You and me? We're ok aren't we?"

"Of course we are." She laughed.

"Good." He smiled back.

When they reached the spot where they'd left Owen, they saw that he'd gone. Gwen frowned as she looked around at the empty platform and pulled out her phone.

Owen was carrying the last box of Gwen's things into his flat, when his phone started to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it.

"Hey." He said.

"Where the hell are you?" Gwen asked.

"I didn't want to stand around waiting for you and Rhys so I walked back to your flat to pick up my car. I've just finished unloading your stuff." Owen explained.

"Oh sweetheart, you didn't have to do that. I would have helped." She replied.

"Well, I didn't really help with the packing did I? So it's only fair." He shrugged. "How are things anyway?"

"They're fine. We've had a chat and we're all ok now." Gwen told him.

"That's good to know." Owen replied. "I'm glad everything's ok. I know how much Rhys means to you and I'd hate to see you so upset if you lost someone as special as he is."

"You are amazing." Gwen smiled.

"I know." He grinned. "Look, I'll meet you at the Hub, ok? I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. See you soon." Gwen replied.

Owen smiled as he put the phone down and looked around at the flat. Even with everything in boxes, with some part of Gwen there, it already started to feel like a home. That's when he finally knew what had been missing since he'd moved in. Gwen.

When he arrived at the Hub, he headed straight down to the archives in search of Ianto once again. The Welshman was sat at his desk once again.

"Ianto, I need that ring back." He said.

Ianto frowned as he looked around.

"Wow. How long have I been down here?" Ianto asked.

"It's...only been a day." Owen answered, unsure of whether Ianto was being serious or not.

"Oh." Ianto said and stood up and disappeared into the depths of the archives. Owen just about heard his voice as he spoke to him. "I thought you were going to wait."

"I was but her ex-boyfriend found out and ruined the whole thing so now she knows. I'm just going to go for it." Owen replied. "I think she'll say yes, she didn't freak out when she found out. That's got to be a good sign, hasn't it?"

"I'm sure everything will be fine." Ianto smiled as he appeared beside Owen with the ring.

"Cheers mate." Owen replied and placed the ring in his pocket. "Oh, don't tell anyone. I want Gwen to have her moment of happiness when she tells everyone."

"I won't say a word." Ianto replied.

When he returned to the workstations, Gwen was just sitting down at her desk. She hadn't seen him coming and he decided to creep up behind her. He grabbed her shoulders causing her to shriek and almost leap out of her chair. Owen laughed as he spun her in her chair to face him and she glared up at him, her arms folded across her chest.

"If I wasn't in such a good mood, I'd give you such a slap." She told him and unfolded her arms.

"And why are you in such a good mood?" He smiled. He placed his hands either side of her head and leant in to brush his lips against hers. She smiled as she looked into his eyes. "What, or who, could have possibly put that gorgeous smile on your face?"

"That would be my wonderful boyfriend and the excitement of moving in with him." She answered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They both laughed as they shared a gentle kiss.

"You still up for dinner later?" He asked.

"Of course." She nodded.

At that moment, Jack came out of his office with a look that Gwen and Owen knew meant trouble.

"Possible Weevil sighting at St Mary's church." He announced. "Who wants to take it?"

"We'll both go." Gwen sighed.

"I hope you've both got umbrellas." Tosh's voice said. The three of them turned to see a dripping wet Toshiko standing in the doorway revealed by the rolling door. "The sky's just opened up out there."

"Oh brilliant." Gwen said. "Is that why you're not taking this one Jack?"

"Hey, I would have taken it if neither of you wanted to go. You're the one that offered to go, I just asked." Jack pointed out.

Gwen rolled her eyes and stood up, grabbing her can of anti-Weevil spray and hand clamps.

"Come on, Owen. The quicker we get this done, the quicker we can get back." She said. "How many Weevils?"

"Just the one." Jack answered.

Owen sighed as Jack threw him the SUV keys and he turned to follow Gwen out of the Hub to the SUV. Both threw their hands over their heads as they ran to the vehicle, trying to keep themselves as dry as possible. The keys became slippery and Owen's fingers were starting to feel numb making it difficult for him to press the little button that unlocked the SUV.

"Sorry." Owen called to Gwen as she waited impatiently for him. "I can't get the bloody – there, done it."

They quickly slipped into the car and out of the rain.

"I love Wales and I'm proud to be Welsh and I know it rains almost every day, but sometimes I wish this rain would just sod off." Gwen muttered.

Owen chuckled as he started the car and drove away.

Once they reached the church, they checked their guns were loaded and climbed out of the SUV. Owen took the hand clamps from Gwen and hooked them into his belt. They edged towards the building, keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of a Weevil and their hands gripped their guns tightly. Owen spotted a hunched shadow hiding in the shade of a tree.

"There." Owen whispered, pointing towards the shadow. "You go that way, come at it from behind. I'll go the other way and distract it. You grab it from behind just like I showed you and hit it with the spray."

Gwen nodded silently and darted off into the direction Owen had told her to go. He split off in the other direction and slowly started to approach the figure. As soon as he was near, he heard soft growls and smelled the stench of raw sewage. Definitely a Weevil.

Mud squelched under his feet though he tried to be as quiet as he could. The Weevil sensed that he was near and whipped it's head round to hiss at him. Owen held his gun out in front of him in a firm and steady grasp, ready to fire if necessary. It continued to hiss and growl at him, not yet seeing Owen as much of a danger.

Over the Weevil's shoulder, Owen spotted Gwen approaching it from behind. She popped the lid off the can of Weevil spray with one hand and her other pointed her gun at the Weevil. They locked eyes for a few seconds as Gwen crept nearer before she nodded, letting him know she was close enough. She holstered her gun and pounced on the Weevil. Grabbing it's arm, she twisted it behind it's back and as the Weevil spun it's head to snap at her, she sprayed it in the face. It snarled and started to go down. Once it was on the floor, Gwen climbed onto it's back and twisted it's other arm around it's back. Owen quickly ran over and snapped the hand clamps into place. The Weevil wasn't ready to give up yet and thrashed out one last time. Gwen was thrown off it's back and she landed in the mud. The Weevil let out one last half-hearted growl and slumped to the floor.

"Bastard." Gwen spat as she pulled herself up.

She was covered from head to foot in mud and Owen couldn't help but laugh at her as he dragged the Weevil up off the floor.

"You still in that good mood?" Owen asked. Gwen glared silently at him and he took it as a 'no'. "Let's...get back to the Hub."

He shoved the Weevil in front of him to quickly escape her glare.

Owen couldn't look at her during the journey back as she wiped the mud away from her face as best as she could. She mumbled under her breath and he caught a few swear words alongside Jack's name.

At the Hub, Gwen and Owen took the Weevil down to the cells before heading up to the main area. Jack, Tosh and Ianto all raised their eyebrows when they saw the couple.

"Wow. Owen I sent you out to get a Weevil and you come back with the creature from the black lagoon." Jack joked.

Everyone but Gwen burst into laughter and she glared at all of them.

"So, you think this is funny do you?" Gwen asked. She turned to smile sweetly at Owen before wiping her muddy hand across his face. She flicked mud at Tosh and Jack then turned to Ianto who was laughing at them all. "I don't know why you're laughing, you're next."

Ianto's laughter died and he started to back slowly away from Gwen.

"Please don't. This is a new suit. Gwen, please." He begged. He turned and ran when she drew too near for his liking. The team watched as Gwen chased him into the deeper parts of the Hub until all they could hear was Ianto's pleas. "Gwen, no! Please don't."

"She'll never catch him if he runs into the archives." Jack said. "That man knows that place like the back of his hand."

"He might do but Gwen is incredibly light on her feet. He'll never hear her coming." Owen told him.

A few moments later, Gwen came skipping back into the main area with a satisfied smile on her face. Ianto followed with a scowl and mud streaked across his cheek and forehead.

"Right, I'm going home for a shower and to change into some clean clothes." She announced. "I'll be back in a bit but I am __not__ going on any more call outs. I'll do admin. Want to keep myself looking presentable for dinner later."

"Here. Keys." Owen said and threw them to her.

"Thanks honey." She smiled.

Everyone turned to glare at Owen as she ran out of the rolling door.

"What? It wasn't my fault." Owen said defensively. "The Weevil threw her off it's back."

"And you didn't think to take her home first?" Tosh asked.

"There was a Weevil in the back of the SUV. I wasn't going to take a Weevil back to my flat." Owen argued. "Come on, it's only a bit of mud. It'll wipe off easily. At least you didn't get covered in it like Gwen did."

"At least she didn't get the suit." Ianto sighed as he checked his suit.

By the time everyone was ready to leave, the rain had stopped but Gwen made sure to pick up an umbrella just in case. Her and Owen could huddle underneath it if they needed to.

Owen kept nervously checking his pockets for the ring as he drove them to the restaurant. Each time his fingers closed around the little box, he'd breath a small sigh of relief and place his hand on the steering wheel before the whole process started again.

"Is everything ok, Owen?" Gwen asked as she watched him stuff his hand into his pocket.

"Yeah, everything's in order." He nodded. "Well, here we are."

Gwen's eyes widened as she looked out of the window at the most expensive restaurant in Cardiff.

"We're eating here? But it's so expensive." She said.

"It's ok, it's my treat." He shrugged. "Like I said, today's a special day and I want everything to be perfect, including dinner."

"But we'll never get in. This place is always fully booked and we haven't made reservations." She told him.

"That's where you're wrong." He grinned. "When you went home to shower, I got Tosh to hack into the restaurant's computers and reserve us a table." Gwen laughed and shook her head at him. "Wait there." Owen climbed out of the car and ran around to her side. He opened the door and held his hand out to her. "My Lady."

She giggled as she placed her hand in his and got out of the car. Linking her arm through his, she smiled lovingly at him and let him lead her into the restaurant.

When they entered the restaurant, Gwen looked around and immediately felt uncomfortable.

"Owen, don't you think we should go home and change?" Gwen whispered. "I feel under-dressed. I hate to think what we look like."

Owen turned to her and held both her hands in his.

"You always look beautiful to me." He told her.

She smiled as caught her lips in a gentle kiss. A polite cough sounded from behind them and Owen turned to look at a smartly dressed waiter.

"Can I help you, sir?" The waiter asked.

"Yes. We have a reservation under the name Harper." Owen replied.

The waiter stepped behind a desk and checked the computer.

"Yes, right this way Mr Harper." The waiter nodded. He led them over to a table for two beside the window and held out Gwen's chair for her. "Mrs Harper."

Gwen and Owen looked at each other and neither bothered to correct him. She blushed as she looked away and sat down.

"Thank you." She said to the waiter.

"Could I get you a drink while you choose your meals?" He asked.

"Two glasses of your finest wine please." Owen answered.

"Owen, you're driving remember." Gwen reminded him.

"I'll be fine. I'll just have the one." He shrugged. "I bought wine in anyway so we can have a glass when we go home."

"Home." Gwen smiled. "Our home. It still sounds so weird – but a good weird."

Their drinks arrived and they ordered their meals.

At the end of the meal, Owen asked for the check and slipped the waiter a ten pound note without Gwen seeing.

"Take your time with that check." Owen said quietly to him and winked. The waiter nodded and disappeared. Owen took a deep breath as he reached across to hold Gwen's hands in his. "Gwen, I love you so much. I always have. When we shared that kiss on the stairs ten years ago, I knew that it was you I wanted to be with, you I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. When you left, I thought I'd never see you again and my life felt like it had turned into one big black hole, sucking all the happiness out of my world. I tried to be happy and I tried to make myself forget but I just couldn't. I could never feel as happy as I had done in that brief moment. But then our paths crossed again and the minute I looked at you, it felt like I'd taken a lungful of fresh air after drowning. I felt my heart being put back together. You have made me the happiest man in the world...and I hope you'll make me even happier tonight." Gwen had tears in her eyes as she smiled lovingly at him. She gasped as he slipped out of his chair and knelt down on one knee. He pulled the box out of his pocket and opened it. "Gwen Cooper, would you do the honour of becoming my wife?"

Gwen giggled as she tried to hold back her tears long enough to answer. Taking a deep breath, she looked into his eyes and nodded.

"Yes." She smiled. Owen slipped the ring onto her finger and leant in to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight as she cried tears of joy into his shoulder. "I love you."

Owen held her just as tight and buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply to inhale her scent. He could feel his own tears streaming down his face and most of the time, he'd fight them back and go and hide somewhere no one could see him before he let them fall but tonight he didn't care. He wanted the whole world to know how happy he was.

Gwen pulled back slightly to cover his lips with hers and both poured all their love into it.

"I used to dream that one day I'd find you again and you'd ask me to marry you." She told him. She wiped the tears from his face and kissed him again. "I thought you said you wanted to wait though – not that I'm complaining."

"I did but my darling cousin and your meat head of an ex-boyfriend sort of ruined the surprise so I thought, why not completely surprise her and ask her tonight?" He said. "I hope I didn't disappoint you or anything."

"It was perfect." She smiled. "Better than anything I could have asked for."

Owen smiled back and noticed the waiter hovering in the background with the check. He signalled it was ok to come over and paid before leading Gwen out to the car.

"Let's go home." He said.

Once they returned to the flat they would now be sharing, Gwen took hold of Owen's hand and led him silently into the bedroom. The boxes cluttering the flat that contained all of her things went ignored.

Gwen stood with her back to the bed as Owen held her hips and kissed her tenderly. He gently lowered her onto the bed without breaking the kiss. He heard her sigh as he ran his hand up her side to tangle into her hair.

A while later, they lay in silence as they bathed in the after effects of their love making. Owen's eyes were closed as he listened to Gwen's heart beating beneath his ear. He lost himself in the feel of her soft, silky skin against his and the warmth radiating from her. Gwen's own eyes were closed as she ran her hands through his hair. He fit perfectly cradled between her legs, as if they were both made to fit together. Neither wanted to move and neither had spoken since they'd arrived home. They didn't want to ruin the moment and hoped it would last forever.

When Gwen's hand slowed down in his hair, he looked up at her to see she was slowly drifting off. He went to roll off her but she pulled him tighter to her and opened her eyes.

"No." She mumbled.

"Gwen, we should get to sleep and I don't want to crush you." He whispered. "I'm not going far." He rolled onto his side beside her and pulled her onto her side to face him. Linking his fingers through hers, he wrapped an arm around her and held her against his chest. She placed her head in the crook of his neck as she tangled her legs with his. "There. This ok?"

She nodded and pulled back to kiss him.

"I love you." She breathed and lay back down.

"Love you too." He replied and ran his thumb over her ring.

He heard a muffled giggle and felt her press a kiss to his neck. She yawned and snuggled closer to him as he kissed the top of her head.

The next morning, Owen woke up to warm, soft lips pressing against his. His eyes fluttered open as Gwen pulled away and smiled at him.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." She told him.

"It's fine." He replied and pulled her back against his chest. "It's more than fine." Owen grinned as he caught her lips in a passionate kiss and earned a moan from her. "And how is my beautiful fiancée this morning?"

"She is loving it when you call her that." She smiled. As they kissed, Owen's phone began to ring. They both groaned as he reached for it. "It's probably Jack. We're a bit late this morning."

"Yep, Jack." Owen sighed and nodded as he checked the name. He rolled onto his back and pressed the phone to his ear. Gwen smirked as she shuffled into his side and started trailing kisses down his neck. "Jack, what is it?"

"You're two hours late." Jack replied angrily.

"I know, we're sorry." Owen told him. Gwen slid to lie on top of him and started to bite down on the skin of his neck. "We'll be there as soon as we can. Is there anything wrong?"

"No but I expect my staff to be here on time anyway." He snapped.

"But what's the problem if there's nothing happening?" Owen asked. Placing her hands either side of his head, Gwen pushed herself up and stared mischievously into his eyes. Owen gulped as she rocked her hips against his. "It's not like there's any danger."

"Anything can happen in the blink of an eye. Everything might look ok one second but the next, it's a total disaster. I expect all of my team to be ready at all times so nothing like that happens." Jack argued. "Get down here now."

"Alright." Owen sighed. Gwen continued to rock her hips and she trailed a hand down his chest. His knuckles turned white as he gripped his phone and stared back at her hungrily. He grabbed her wrist as her finger started to trail down past his belly button. "We're on our way." He hung up the phone and threw it to the side. Gripping Gwen's hips, he sat up quickly and pulled her so their chests were pressed together. "You. Shower. Now."

"Don't have to tell me twice." She breathed and climbed swiftly out of his lap.

He watched her pause as she looked down at the ring on her finger and smiled. When she looked back at him, her smile grew and he smiled back.

As they entered the Hub, they noticed Tosh already at her workstation and they could hear Ianto clattering cups around as he made drinks. Gwen skipped over to her desk as Owen chuckled and followed her. Tosh turned to smile in amusement at the other woman as she started to hum.

"What's up with Jack this morning?" Owen asked as he sat down at his own computer.

"I don't know but Ianto seems to be in a mood too." Tosh answered.

"I thought he was banging those cups harder than usual." Owen commented.

"My guess is they've had a fight." She sighed. "Which means Jack's on the decaf and we're in for one hell of a day. Still, at least someone's in a good mood."

She nodded towards Gwen and Owen turned to smile at her. Gwen was humming as she logged onto her computer and swivelled her chair from side to side.

"Well, she has good reason to be." Owen grinned.

"Why?" Tosh asked. "Wait, do I want to know. No, you've got that look on your face. I don't want to know."

"No, it's nothing like -" Owen turned back to speak to Gwen. "Babe, tell Tosh why you're in a good mood."

Gwen's smile grew into a grin as she got up and stood beside Owen, her left hand hidden behind her back. He wrapped his arm around her waist as she brought her hand out and showed Tosh the ring gleaming on her finger. Tosh gasped and she smiled at the couple.

"You're engaged. Congratulations." She grinned. "How did he propose? Was it all romantic?"

"It was." Gwen nodded. "It was all so perfect. He took me out to dinner as you know, thanks for booking the table by the way. We had a wonderful, romantic meal and at the end of it, he held my hands and he said this amazing speech. Then he got down on one knee and he asked me to marry him."

"That's so sweet." Tosh said.

Gwen and Owen smiled at each other as he pulled her down onto his knee. Her arms went around his neck as they kissed and Ianto raised his eyebrows as he appeared with a tray of coffees. He looked at Tosh who pointed at Gwen's finger. Ianto smiled when he saw the ring and coughed quietly. When the couple pulled away, he placed their coffees on the desk.

"Coffees and I suppose a congratulations is in order." Ianto said.

"Thanks Ianto." Gwen smiled.

Ianto passed Tosh her coffee then made his way over to Jack's office. The three team members watched intently as he knocked on the door. Jack opened it a few seconds later and the two fixed each other with cold stares.

"Your coffee sir." Ianto said.

"Thank you." Jack replied and took it from the tray.

"I think we should put aside our disagreement." Ianto told him.

"Really?" Jack asked hopefully.

"For now." Ianto answered. "Today's a special day for Gwen and Owen and they don't want it ruined by us."

"Special day?" The Captain enquired as he looked over at Gwen and Owen.

"We're engaged." Owen told him.

Jack stared between them in shock before he broke into a grin.

"Oh my God, that's great." He beamed and ran over to the couple. He pulled Gwen out of Owen's lap and into a bone crushing hug. "Congratulations. This is amazing. Oh, let me see the ring." He grabbed her hand to look at the ring. "It's gorgeous." Gwen giggled as he let go and turned to Owen. "Come here, big guy."

Owen was dragged out of his chair as Jack hugged him tight.

"Jack, a simple hand shake would have been nice." Owen said as he struggled for breath.

The Captain let him go and ruffled his hair.

"At least he's in a better mood." Gwen said and turned to Ianto. "What were you two fighting about anyway?"

"It wasn't exactly a fight, just a...misunderstanding. I'd rather not speak about it." Ianto replied.

Gwen placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently, giving him a friendly smile. He gave her a small smile back then turned to look back at Jack. Owen walked over to them and stood beside Gwen.

"I'm not interrupting am I?" Owen asked.

"No." Ianto answered.

"Good because I'm not done smooching my fiancée." Owen replied. Gwen giggled as he grabbed her hand and twirled her around. He dipped her and caught her lips a sweet kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled.

"If I'd have known ten years ago that I was holding my future wife in my arms, I would have done things so differently." He told her.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I wouldn't have just slept with you. I would have asked you out first, taken you out on a couple of dates. Maybe Lucy wouldn't have had such a problem with it then and...I don't know...we could have been married already. It would have saved so many years of pain." He said.

"It probably would have done." She nodded. "I would have loved to have done all that with you but you know we couldn't have. I lived here in Cardiff and you lived in London. A long distance relationship at that age wouldn't have worked."

"It would have because we'd have made it work. We're meant for each other." He told her.

"I know that." She smiled. "But the way things happened, it proved how strong our love was in the first place and just made it even stronger."

Owen smiled and nodded as he leant in to kiss her again.

"Hate to break up the moment but I think we need to talk." Jack said seriously. "It's probably something I should have spoken to you both about a while back."

"Jack, I think you're a few years too late for that kind of chat." Owen joked.

"It's not that." Jack said. "Just...step into my office for a second."

"Jack, what is it?" Gwen asked nervously as the couple followed him into his office.

"Look, I don't want to ruin your celebrations but these things have to be said." Jack started. "I don't want your relationship affecting your work. Fights can't get in the way here."

"Erm, you and Ianto." Owen laughed.

"Yes, we had a fight but it's not going to affect our work." Jack replied. "Our job is to protect this planet and the human race and we can't defend it against alien invasions if we're squabbling amongst ourselves. Also, if I send one of you out on a mission or I send you both out on separate missions, you have to focus on the task I gave you. You can't be worrying about what the other is doing. I know it'll be hard but you've got to try."

"We understand, Jack." Gwen nodded. "We know how important it is to stay focused in this job."

"Good." Jack said. "Alternatively, don't let the job affect your relationship. When you leave this Hub, you forget aliens and work and whatever and just relax. Spend some quality time together and don't let it drift." Gwen and Owen smiled as they looked at each other. Owen put his arm around her waist as she leant into him. "You know I'll give you the time off – just not too often...and not if I don't like the timing...and you keep your phones on in case of emergencies – but I'll try not to call you unless it's an end of the world emergency." Gwen giggled and Owen rolled his eyes at the Captain. "Ok, that's all the seriousness over. Back to celebrating."

"Knowing you, your idea of celebrating is a Weevil hunt." Owen sighed.

"Hoix, actually." Ianto's voice said from the doorway. "CCTV footage of one at the barrage."

Everyone was silent as they looked expectantly at Gwen and Owen.

"Fine." Gwen said then pointed a warning finger at Jack. "But if I get covered in crap again, I'll use you for target practice."

She grabbed Owen's hand and started to pull him out of Jack's office. Owen turned to look back at Jack and shot him a look that showed he clearly agreed with his fiancée.

****A/N:**** Well, thanks for reading and thanks for all your comments! :) Now on to the next one!


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